After a lengthy period of litigation before the competition authorities, the Competition Tribunal (Tribunal) has prohibited the proposed acquisition by imerys South Africa Proprietary Limited (Imerys) of Andalusite Resources Proprietary Limited (AR). In January 2015, the merging parties notified the Competition Commission (Commission) of the intermediate merger in terms of which Imerys intended to acquire the entire issued share capital in AR. Imerys and AR are involved in the mining, processing and sale of andalusite and are the only two parties that mine and supply andalusite in South Africa. Andalusite forms part of the alumina-silicate group of compounds. Alumina-silicates possess heat-resistant properties and are widely used in the production of refractories for high-temperature industrial processes. Refractories are particularly important to the local steel production industry.
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