About Nyrstar
Nyrstar’s Core Business and the Cost of the Corporate Raid
Michel Vermaerke
Senior Advisor, Nyrstar Collective
Former CEO of FEBELFIN
Former Board Member of The European Banking Federation (EBF)
Independent Board Member (various mandates)
Nyrstar is a global multi-metals business, primarily focused on zinc and lead, with operations across mining, smelting, and recycling. It was founded in 2007 through the merger of the zinc smelting and alloying operations of Union Minière (later Umicore) and the Australian company Zinifex. Nyrstar engages in the extraction, processing, and trading of zinc, lead, and other metals, including copper, silver, and gold as byproducts. The company also plays a key role in the supply of critical minerals essential to high-end technologies and the energy transition.
Nyrstar’s Global Operations and Strategic Value
As one of the world’s largest zinc producers, Nyrstar plays a key role in the raw materials sector. It operates in Europe, the Americas, and Australia, with key smelters in Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. Its operations have historically been vital to the EU's industrial base and strategic autonomy in critical metals. Zinc is essential for steel production and infrastructure, making Nyrstar crucial to energy transition and defense industries.
Trafigura’s Disputed Raid on Nyrstar
In 2019, Trafigura, a major global commodities trader, took full control of Nyrstar to secure raw material supply chains, resulting from a controversial and disputed asset transfer. This raised concerns about strategic dependence on non-EU firms for critical materials. The controversial asset transfer to Trafigura has also sparked serious concerns among small private investors and large institutional stakeholders. What many now see as a corporate raid, has wiped out shareholder value and raised alarm bells across the financial and legal world.
Trafigura’s Role in Nyrstar’s Decline
Once a prominent player in the global zinc and lead markets, Nyrstar's valuation declined sharply from a market cap of over €1.5 billion in 2007. This devaluation was, to a large extent, intentionally orchestrated by Trafigura itself. Core corporate governance principles were violated, notably the arm’s length principle. Self-dealing agreements secured Trafigura favourable terms as both supplier and customer, causing major value leakage and financial distress. In reality, a restructuring was not necessary if Trafigura had acted in good faith and played by the rules, rather than misusing its position as a reference shareholder. This appears to have been part of a deliberate strategy to acquire Nyrstar’s strategic assets for pennies on the dollar at shareholders' expense.
Unlocking Nyrstar’s True Value
Nyrstar shareholders have incurred losses, stemming from Trafigura’s controversial restructuring, estimated at €2 billion. Still, this figure overlooks the company’s key role in the critical minerals sector, positioning it as a central player in the industry's future development.If Nyrstar leverages its assets to serve the booming demand for critical minerals and addresses structural barriers, a revaluation into the hundreds of millions or more is conceivable. However, duped public investors and minority shareholders are unlikely to directly capture that upside unless asset ownership or listing arrangements change, which could occur if Trafigura’s restructuring or asset transfer is declared unlawful and unwound by the courts. This highlights the importance of the Nyrstar Collective, which aims to address these governance and value discrepancies.
