Portovesme, Mimit in the field for new investors

 No stop to the decision to halt the zinc line, but the announcement that the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy 'will conduct a technical mission by December preparatory to the search for new investors in the Portovesme pole'. The meeting at Mimit on the Portovesme Srl dispute, Glencore's subsidiary operating in southern Sardinia, which announced the halt to the line used to produce zinc, brought no substantial news;

Summing up the framework described at the meeting, attended not only by the minister for enterprises, Adolfo Urso, but also by the undersecretary with responsibility for company crises, Fausta Bergamotto, the Sardinia Region and representatives of the trade unions, is a note from Mimit, which, among other things, announces a technical mission by December 'preparatory to the search for new investors with industrial projects compatible with the activities currently present at the Portovesme site';(i.e. parties willing to take over the zinc line) and the launch with Glencore of an in-depth study 'aimed at identifying possible solutions to the high energy costs'. 

The ministry's note also reiterates that the company has expressed its willingness to 're-launch the Portovesme site, launching a plant maintenance plan and developing the lithium project - currently being examined by the European Commission as one of the strategic projects presented under the Critical Raw Materials Act -, integrating it with compatible industrial initiatives, also with new players, aimed at preserving the production vocation of this area'. And then, in addition to the government's 'opposition to the divestment plan', an invitation to the company to make 'a concrete effort to relaunch the site';

From Glencore a commitment to provide the ministry with 'regular updates on the progress of the project feasibility study' on the recycling of battery materials. As well as the commitment that 'maintenance work, planned for later, will be brought forward to give the contractors greater job security and more continuity given the situation'. A sort of buffer for the workers;

Positions that, however, do not convince the region. "Glencore's plans on the downsizing of the Portovesme industrial site, and in particular the closure of the zinc line, are totally unacceptable, say the councillors for Industry Emanuele Cani and Labour Desirè Manca. The new project announced by the company cannot be considered a valid alternative to zinc processing, at best a second front in which to invest. While the multinational company's top management has shown a closed attitude towards our requests, the government has illustrated the possibility of further uses for the site that could open a window of opportunity for the workers. However, we do not need reassurances, but certainties;