The Competition Tribunal has blocked the proposed sale of Sasol's sodium cyanide business to the Czech Republic's Draslovka Holdings.
Sasol is the primary supplier of sodium cyanide in liquid form to South Africa's gold mining industry.
Sodium cyanide is a chemical compound commonly used in the extraction of precious metals like gold and silver. It is an important input for the gold mining firms operating in South Africa and there are no practical alternatives for it.