Articles

The government's plan to establish a dedicated financial prosecution unit is exactly what Belgium's justice system has needed for years. Those who are familiar with the Nyrstar case know precisely why. Belgian Minister of Justice Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) and Ismaël Nuino (Les Engagés), chair of the Parliamentary Justice Committee, announced the creation of a dedicated financial prosecution division within the federal public prosecutor's office. The announcement marks a turni

Like nuclear energy, zinc is a strategic resource. The critical metals that Nyrstar extracts as by-products of zinc smelting may be even more vital to a country’s autonomy. The applause for Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s plan to recover Belgium’s nuclear power plants had barely faded before the next strategic sector came knocking at the door of 16 Rue de la Loi. According to Richard Holtum, CEO of the Singapore-based commodities giant Trafigura, the metal-processing industry

Europe is finally talking about strategic autonomy. But can we achieve real autonomy by subsidising foreign companies that own our strategic assets? It is deeply cynical that Trafigura CEO Richard Holtum published an article last week calling on EU policymakers to protect metal smelters in the name of Europe’s strategic autonomy. Cynical, because it was precisely Trafigura that took zinc smelter Nyrstar out of European control back in 2019, in circumstances still actively con

In a striking illustration of the widening gap between corporate sustainability claims and environmental reality, a Dutch water authority has taken legal action against pollution caused by Nyrstar’s zinc plant in Pelt, Belgium. The dispute centers on discharges of toxic substances into the Dommel River. The pollution is so severe it is preventing the Dutch province of North Brabant from meeting EU water quality and public health standards. The question is not only why Flander

What occurred at Nyrstar is increasingly difficult to view as a one-off cycle of events. The sequence suggests a repeatable model rather than an isolated case. Developments surrounding a gold mining project in Ghana indicate that similar mechanisms may still be in use. This matters not only for interpreting the past, but also for current and future counterparties, including groups such as Korea Zinc, now acquiring parts of Nyrstar’s business. The Cuckoo Strategy: Enter, Weak

Nyrstar Zinc processing plant The True Cost of a Convenient Partner When governments or corporations need to move vast quantities of commodities quickly, few firms can match Trafigura’s global reach. The Washington Post recently reported that the U.S. administration selected Trafigura to execute Venezuelan oil sales because of its logistics network, financial capacity and speed of execution. But the article also highlights a deeper tension: Trafigura’s strength is repeatedly

A new day, a new scandal. Commodity trading giants Vitol and Trafigura are now under investigation for fraud in Bolivia. This time, the accusations involve the smuggling of poor quality gasoline that is reportedly damaging vehicles across the country. This case does not stand alone. It adds to a growing list of controversies involving Trafigura in recent years. In Belgium a criminal investigation into the transfer of assets from zinc smelter Nyrstar to Trafigura is still ongo

Korea Zinc's ambitious $6.6 billion plan to build cutting-edge smelting infrastructure in the United States represents exactly the kind of investment Washington seeks. The strategy is clear: extract critical minerals domestically, reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains, and secure Tennessee's zinc operations as the foundation for American mineral independence. On paper, it's a win-win. In reality, it may be built on contested legal ground. A Foundation Built on Disputed Own

After acquiring Nyrstar’s U.S. assets from Trafigura, Korea Zinc is planning to invest $6.6 billion in building a state-of-the-art smelter allowing it to extract critical minerals. The operation includes acquiring Nyrstar's Tennessee mines and smelter from Trafigura, alongside the U.S. This in an effort to allow the U.S. to regain independence from China in the critical minerals market. But there's a critical risk: Trafigura may not be legally in position to sell what it inte

picture: President Donald Trump (White House, public domain Creative Commons Attribution 3.0-licentie ). While Brussels drafts legislation on strategic autonomy, Europe has already surrendered it on the ground. We speak endlessly about reducing dependence on China for critical minerals, yet we've sold off the very infrastructure needed to process them. The Nyrstar case perfectly illustrates this contradiction. What was presented as a necessary rescue operation in 2019 was, in

Alexander Verbeek explains why Trump wants Greenland. A matter of national security for sure. But the real answer lies beneath the ice: rare earth minerals essential for advanced technology and defence systems. While Arctic mining remains extremely challenging, Nyrstar owns significant off-take rights on one of the largest zinc & critical minerals deposits of the island, the Citronen mine, ready for exploitation and strategically invaluable. In 2019, Trafigura acquired Nyrst

professor Herman Matthijs (UGent, VUB) Zinc mining isn't just about zinc. It's about critical byproduct minerals essential for defense and advanced technology. Europe stood by as Nyrstar, a world-leading European zinc smelter traded in Brussels, fell into the hands of Singapore-based commodity trader Trafigura. A preventable loss with lasting geopolitical consequences. In this video professor Herman Matthijs (UGent, VUB) explains how Europe is losing this strategic race.

The global commodity markets are no stranger to controversy. But when a firm as large as Trafigura finds itself facing several major legal battles simultaneously, the industry must take note. One concerns an alleged fraud involving nickel shipments worth about $600 million; another involves a landmark bribery conviction. A third centres on the long-running dispute related to Nyrstar, in which Trafigura has faced allegations over its role in the company’s financial collapse. T

When De Tijd highlighted zinc’s vital role in the green transition, it might have sounded like a niche industrial story. Zinc may not appear on the European Commission’s list of “critical” materials, but its byproducts — germanium, indium, and gallium — are indispensable for semiconductors, fiber optics, batteries, and advanced defense systems. These rare metals place zinc smelters like Nyrstar at the heart of a geopolitical contest. As demand for critical minerals surges, Eu

As geopolitical tensions and fears of war escalate, the race for strategic raw materials has reached a fever pitch among the world’s major power blocs. Commodity giants such as Glencore and Trafigura are cashing in on global scarcity, posting record-breaking profits that underscore their growing dominance in the global supply chain. Traders Thrive Amid Geopolitical Turmoil A recent Bloomberg article confirms that the world’s top metal traders are among the biggest beneficiari

The Nyrstar saga continues to make headlines. La Libre follows up on articles published by L'Echo and De Tijd and highlights a striking...

Our years of appealing for transparency in the sour Nyrstar file finally seems to have been heard. In this article by Bert Broens in De Tijd, it is now also explicitly confirmed that the Auditor of the FSMA concludes, after years of investigation, that Nyrstar has misled the market by not communicating transparently. photo © De Tijd For example, no less than 719 million euros in debt were kept hidden from the market. But there is more: our thesis that Trafigura has served its

From Jakarta to Geneva, Trafigura’s Troubles Multiply. Fresh off a Swiss court conviction tied to operations in Angola, commodity giant...

Is Nyrstar’s board of directors truly caught between a rock and a hard place? That metaphor positions the board as a victim. In reality, it has uncritically aligned itself with the interests of its majority shareholder, Trafigura. In a recent interview with De Tijd, Marc Taeymans, an independent board member at Nyrstar, portrayed the company as a collatoral casuality in a dispute between Trafigura and minority shareholders. This portrayal is not only inaccurate—it is perilous