Oaktree invests in Draslovka

Oaktree Capital Management is to invest $150 million in Czech firm Draslovka, “providing preferred equity capital to support the company’s growth strategy”. This follows multiple recent acquisitions by Draslovksa, a family-owned specialist in CN-based chemicals, including next generation fumigants and biocides.

Simultaneously, Draslovka completed the acquisition of Australia’s Mining & Process Solutions (MPS), which owns exclusive rights to Curtin University’s glycine leaching process, an environmentally benign hydrometallurgical process to leach base and precious metal oxide, mixed oxide and sulphide ores. Terms were not disclosed.

Draslovka, which is already the global market leader in chemicals for gold and silver mining, said that MPS adds an “environmentally sustainable solution” for the extraction of precious metals, plus copper, nickel and cobalt. Glycine leaching technology will also diversify its portfolio into sensitive locations where other forms of leaching are not suitable.

This follows on from Draslovka’s acquisition of Chemours’ Mining Solutions business, which was completed in December 2021. The company said that the integration process is “well under way and exceeding initial expectations”. It also sought to buy Sasol’s sodium cyanide business but this was blocked by the South African competition authorities.