Argentina Atanor buys salt mine for feedstock

14 November 2007 20:37  [Source: ICIS news]

BUENOS AIRES (ICIS news)--Argentine agricultural chemical company Atanor has acquired a salt mine for $7m (€4.8m) to integrate feedstock with its chlor-alkali production chain, a company executive said on Wednesday.

Atanor acquired 50% of the Restauracion salt mine, located in La Colorada Grande in the Argentine province of La Pampa, from Valuveal. The remainder of the salt mine is owned by Timbo, an Argentine chemical company and mining firm.

Miguel Gonzalez, CEO of Atanor, told ICIS news in Spanish, “this decision is linked with our strategy of advancements in the vertical integration process”.

With the purchase, the company will be self-sufficient in feedstock to produce chlorine, caustic soda and hydrogen. Chlorine, caustic soda and hydrogen transformed into hydrogen peroxide are the base for the production of Atanor’s three herbicides.

Until now, the firm bought salt from the Compania Introductora de Buenos Aires (CIBA).

“With this operation the enterprise will produce its own raw material and will reduce the costs by 50%,” Gonzalez said.

The salt mine has 2.700 ha and produces 240,000 tonne/year.

Atanor is headquartered in Buenos Aires and is controlled by Iowa-based DA International.

In 2006 the company inaugurated in Rio Tercero, Cordoba, Province of Argentina a facility to produce chlorine, caustic soda and hydrogen with installed capacity of 50,000 tonne/year, with an investment of $60m.

In 2005, Atanor inaugurated in Rio Tercero another plant to produce hydrogen peroxide. The company paid $30m in that operation and it became in the only plant that produces hydrogen peroxide in the country.

The company has got eight facilities located in Argentina, and one in Brazil. Their staff is includes some 3000 persons.

($1.00 = €0.68)

By: Cristina Kroll
+1 713 525 2653

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