Noranda plans $35 mln investment for St. James Parish alumina refinery face-lift

New Day Aluminium subsidiary Noranda Bauxite & Alumina is planning to invest US$35 million for expansion and upgradation of an alumina refinery in St. James Parish, CEO David D’Addario announced on Friday, May 19. The company having bauxite mining operations in Jamaica also plans to set up its headquarters at the Gramercy complex.

The aluminium refinery on the bank of the Mississippi River was built by Kaiser Aluminium & Chemical Corp., and has operated in St. James Parish since 1958.

The alumina refinery upgradation project will include design and implementation of equipment aimed at enhancing production, storage and transport of chemical-grade alumina.

 “These capital improvements represent the largest capital expenditure at Gramercy in more than a decade,” D’Addario said in the news release.

Chemical-grade alumina, also known as CGA, is used in a wide variety of industrial applications, water treatment, gas and petrochemical refining, flame retardant manufacturing, and building materials and insulation to name a few.

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Louisiana Economic Development (LED) is hopeful about the project resulting in 185 new indirect job creations for a total of 250 new jobs for St. James Parish. The project, LED ensured, will maintain 395 existing jobs at the alumina refinery.

“The Port of South Louisiana is excited about Noranda’s $35 million investment in St. James Parish within our port district, together with the retention of existing jobs and the new jobs the expansion will create for the River Region community,” Executive Director Paul Aucoin of the Port of South Louisiana said in a media release.