Greek Mytilineos keeps only zinc and lead plant in the country closed

Mytilineos group has kept activities of Sometra Copşa Mică, the only zinc and lead producer in Romania with over 140m euros in turnover in 2008, closed for more than two years, though at the moment production was suspended it had described the move as "temporary".

The group has not specified a date by which the Romanian complex would be reopened, only specifying it awaits prices to pick up on the market.

The decision to shut down the Copşa Mică plant came amid the plummeting zinc and lead prices in the wake of the global crisis, with the company unable to cover its operating costs any longer.

Last March, the Greeks laid off 735 of the around 1,000 workers of Sometra, with the company having now 178 employees.

The move to close the plant for over two years and make employees redundant was one of the toughest decisions an industrial field company has made, though almost all producers coped with serious problems in this period.