Manganese, News & Features, Resource News

Billionaire Bogolyubov Sees ‘Strong’ Manganese Demand in China

Click here to read the whole story or read an excerpt below.

By James Paton

Consolidated Minerals Ltd., owned by Ukrainian billionaire Gennadiy Bogolyubov, is benefiting from “strong” Chinese demand for manganese, used to harden steel.

“I’m a big believer in the steel industry,” Bogolyubov said today in an interview in Sydney after visiting the company’s mining operations in Western Australia. “As long as they produce steel, there will be demand for manganese, and we feel strong demand. We have issues with the price sometimes, but not with demand. We can sell everything that we have.”

Bogolyubov, who already owns iron, coal, oil, gas and steel businesses, took control of Consolidated in January 2008 with a A$1.3 billion ($1.3 billion) acquisition. The company is targeting manganese output of 1.5 million metric tons this year at its Woodie Woodie mine in Australia, the billionaire said.

Bogolyubov said he doesn’t “see this as the right time” for an initial public offering of Consolidated shares in Australia or the U.K. The company was studying a potential listing in London or Sydney, Glenn Baldwin, chief executive officer of the St. Helier, Jersey-based company, said in June.

Consolidated would consider selling its stake in manganese producer OM Holdings Ltd. (OMH) if that company’s management fails to improve “corporate governance,” Bogolyubov said.

“If things don’t change, we’ll think about it,” he said. “It’s possible.”

Consolidated, which owns manganese mines in Ghana and Australia, is the largest shareholder of OM with an 11.35 percent stake. Consolidated in July cited “poor corporate governance” and “ineffective leadership” that led to a loss of about $130 million in the value of the shares since March.

Consolidated doesn’t plan to take over OM, whose shares have slumped 52 percent in Sydney trading this year, Bogolyubov said.