Alumina Partners of Jamaica (Alpart) has announced plans to temporarily shut down production from May 15 due to the unprecedented fall in global aluminium markets and corresponding drop in alumina demand.
0 YEARS: Since March 1989, Hydro has had a 35 percent ownership share in alumina producer Alpart in Jamaica.
Alpart is a bauxite mining and alumina processing company operating in Jamaica under license granted by the government of Jamaica. It is owned indirectly 65 percent by UC Rusal and 35 percent by Hydro, and has a production capacity of around 1,650,000 tonnes alumina per year.
The company, which announced in January that it would reduce production by 50 percent, said that the further market deterioration had necessitated the decision to temporarily shut down operations.
Alpart said around 900 permanent employees would be made redundant as a result of the temporary shutdown, which is expected to last at least 12 months.
The temporary shutdown of Alpart will further align Hydro’s alumina balance, based on the announced curtailments in the company’s smelter production system.