Turkish investor considers building copper smelter in Romania

Turkish engineering, consultancy and project management company Sintek, also a producer of equipment for mining, oil, gas and cement industries, seeks a partnership with Romanian companies Cupru Min and Moldomin for building a copper smelter in Romania. The plant would process the copper concentrate extracted by Cupru Min and Moldomin, according to Profit.ro.

The two state companies control over 90% of Romania's copper reserves, out of which Cupru Min holds about 60%. Currently, Cupru Min produces, to a small extent, raw copper ore.

The Romanian Government announced in 2017 that it was considering building a metallurgical plant at Cupru Min, where Romania's copper resources would be processed for the production of value-added products, given that the company only produces raw ore. If the construction of the copper smelter at Cupru Min were carried out with Sintek, it would be the first state investment of this type and scope in the sector after 1989.

The Romanian state controls both Cupru Min and Moldomin through the Ministry of Economy. The talks between the ministry representatives and the Turkish company are in preliminary, non-binding phase, according to Profit.ro data.

In the last 10 years, the state has tried twice to privatize Cupru Min but failed each time. The Government abandoned the idea.

Cupru Min holds the exploitation rights for the largest copper deposit in Romania, at Roşia Poieni. Moldomin, a state-owned company as well, discontinued operations in 2006 and went bankrupt in 2010.

(Photo source: Facebook/Cupru Min SA Abrud)