Century Aluminum, the US primary aluminium producer, is preparing to pour up to USD 30 million into its Jamaican alumina refinery, Jamalco, in 2026, a move aimed at slashing energy costs and restoring the plant to full strength.
The update came during the company’s latest investor call. Century’s executive vice-president, CFO and treasurer, Peter Trpkovski, outlined the plans, “For our 55 per cent interest, I’d expect USD 10 million to USD15 million in sustaining operations, and another USD 10 million to USD 15 million in investments at Jamalco next year.”
The Government of Jamaica retains the remaining 45 per cent of Jamalco, which sits in Halse Hall, Clarendon. Trpkovski said work is advancing on the long-awaited turbine generator, alongside other initiatives to push Jamalco back into the second quartile of the global cost curve.
The turbine, already delivered and in the final stages of installation, is due to be running by the first quarter of 2026. Once online, it will allow Jamalco to generate its own power cutting out expensive third-party electricity purchases and giving margins a long-awaited lift, management noted.
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Setbacks, acquisitions, and resilience
Century Aluminum acquired its 55 per cent stake in Jamalco two years ago, but the road since has been far from smooth. In the second half of 2023, the refinery racked up USD 30.4 million in unplanned costs tied to equipment failures and damage to its powerhouse, blowing past an original USD 7 million capital expenditure budget.
A year later, in July 2024, Hurricane Beryl inflicted an additional USD 10 million in damage on Jamalco’s Rocky Point port.
Century Aluminum had scooped up the refinery from Noble Energy in April 2023 for a symbolic USD 1. The deal, however, immediately generated a USD 103.3 million gain for Century, whose market value then stood at USD 16 billion.
Despite the setbacks, Century insists it is not backing away. The company has reaffirmed its plan to keep investing in Jamalco through 2026, keeping production on track to reach 1.4 million tonnes of alumina per year.
Jesse Gary, Century’s president and CEO, stressed that Jamalco’s long-term bauxite licences shield it from the sort of supply risks now dogging Guinea, where licence suspensions have unsettled the global market. He said the fresh investment is part of a broader push to secure alumina supplies for the company’s smelters in the US and Iceland.
For now, Century isn’t breaking out Jamalco’s sales in its results. The Chicago-headquartered producer reported a net loss of USD 4.6 million in the second quarter of 2025, though adjusted EBITDA came in at USD 4.3 million. Looking ahead, the company expects stronger third-quarter earnings, buoyed by higher regional premiums and improving operations.
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