Romco Group and Elemental holding start partnership in African metals recycling
From left to right — Ajaz Ahmed, CFO, Romco; Martijn Reekers, Chief Investment Officer, Elemental; Raymond Onovwigun, founder and CEO, Romco; Sławomir Baran Head of M&A, Elemental. (Main image: From left to right — Paweł Jarski, founder and CEO, Elemental, Right: Raymond Onovwigun, founder and CEO, Romco.)
Romco Group and Elemental Group have agreed to form a partnership in metals recycling in Africa. The partnership will accelerate and diversify Romco’s existing growth plans and reinforce its position as a key player in the global metals recycling industry.
The partnership will combine Romco’s and Elemental’s expertise and resources in the collection, pre-processing, smelting, and trading of recycled base and precious metals. The partners will expand Elemental’s existing business in spent auto-catalyst recycling, e-waste recycling and li-ion battery recycling to Africa, while accelerating expansion of Romco’s existing aluminium and copper recycling operations. Romco has a strong established presence in West Africa which will serve as an initial base for the partnership.
Combining resources from both partners, Romco and Elemental will aim to deliver the most green and sustainable base and precious metals in the world to its customers, using best-in-class ESG standards. The partnership will initially focus on the production of aluminium, copper, platinum group metals and by-products such as gold and silver.
Pawel Jarski, CEO and founder of Elemental, said: “We have nothing but respect for the company Raymond and his team have built since 2016. Romco is the ideal partner for Elemental to start multi-metal recycling in Africa. The opportunity for metals recycling in Africa is immense and through this partnership we are well placed to help deliver more recycled critical minerals to Africa and the world. Thanks to our partnership with Romco Group, we have the unique opportunity to promptly enter two new, important markets: Nigeria and Ghana. From the perspective of Elemental Group, our presence in Africa is a natural progression in the development of our global structure.”
Raymond Onovwigun, CEO and founder of Romco, said: “We are thrilled to embark on this partnership with Elemental Group. Romco’s vision has always been to lead the way in sustainable metals recycling in Africa, and this collaboration with Elemental will significantly enhance our ability to achieve that goal. Pawel’s drive and tenacity at Elemental has more than impressed us, we see Elemental as a perfect pairing to drive scalability. By leveraging our combined expertise and resources, we will not only accelerate the expansion of Romco’s existing aluminium and copper recycling operations but also introduce innovative processes for other base and precious metals. This partnership exemplifies our commitment to delivering the highest quality secondary metals to our customers, while keeping our environmental and social responsibilities front and centre.”