JISCO to restart Jamaica’s 2-million tpa Alpart Alumina refinery

<p>China's Gansu Province-based steelmaker Jiuquan Iron &amp; Steel Group (JISCO) Co. has announced the commencement of a 14-MegaWatt gas turbine on April 6. The gas turbine project is aimed at restarting Alpart Alumina plant in Jamaica.</p> <p>As per Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) report, JISCO will restart the 2-million tonne per annum alumina capacity shortly.</p> <p><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/Alpart-2.jpg" alt="News" width="504" height="332" /></p> <p>In the last quarter of 2016, Russian aluminium giant Rusal completed the sale of its Alpart alumina refinery in Jamaica to JISCO for US$299 million. The sale was part of Rusal&rsquo;s efforts to improve its own debt ratio. The two companies also established a consulting and technical services agreement in order to facilitate the hand-off.</p> <p>Alpart&rsquo;s capacity, prior to its shut down in 2009, was 1.65 million metric tonnes of alumina and 4.9 million metric tonnes of bauxite that it sourced from its own mines. Rusal acquired a 65 per cent share in the alumina refinery's operation in 2007 when it acquired alumina business of Glencore. It went to possess the remained shares in 2011.</p> <p>{googleAdsense}</p> <p>JISCO on owning Alpart alumina refinery in Jamaica became one of the top ten producers in the aluminium industry value chain in China. Outside China, it has operations in&nbsp; South Africa, the Philippines, and Mongolia, and produces approximately 8 million short tons of crude and rolled steel per annum.</p>