OZ Minerals has sold its share in Nyrstar in a last effort to raise funds to refinance their $1 billion debt.
The company announced today that they had sold their 7.8% stake in Nyrstar for $33 million, recording a small loss.
Oz Minerals communications advisor Sally Cox told MINING DAILY that the company was making good progress in efforts to pay off the debt.
“We are currently working hard at refinancing and we are confident that our deadline will be met,” Cox said.
The company needs to refinance some $560 million of debt by February 27.
According to Cox, the last few months have proven very difficult for the miner who was forced to retrench 1200 employees from their Australasian operations.
“Over the last few months we have been forced to out several of our operations into care and maintenance and this has resulted in the loss of a number of jobs.”
The cuts represent about 15 per cent of its total workforce, with the job losses covering the previously announced closures and cutbacks of mines in Tasmania and Western Australia.
New figures for the group’s copper and gold mining operation in Laos and from its Freshwater Place head office on the Yarra brought the total up to 1200 positions.