On 2nd September 2021, Concord Resources, the major shareholder of New Day Aluminium stated that the only left alumina refinery in the USA has resumed its production facility in Gramercy, Louisiana, as the operations were ceased due to Hurricane Ida.
Mark Hansen, CEO of Concord Resources, said: “Alumina production at Gramercy went into a planned curtailment on Sunday morning as part of preparations to safely manage our site through the storm.”
“After extensive safety checks, there was no serious damage to the alumina refinery or its infrastructure”, Hansen added.
“We will resume bauxite refining operations and alumina production this week, thanks to the hard work of the refinery management and staff.”
The CEO further added: “The rate of production will depend on several factors, including the restoration of open navigation on the Lower Mississippi River and the full operational recovery of some of our key suppliers and service providers in the area.”
The alumina refinery anticipates reaching 80% production capacity from this week, ahead it resumes being fully operational a few days later.
Hansen said: “Our team had no workforce injuries during this time. While we were fortunate that the families of our employees were also unharmed by the hurricane, unfortunately, numerous employees have suffered damage to their homes and property.”
“We are working diligently to understand the impact on the surrounding communities and will assist where we can.”
The commodity merchant with a focus on non-ferrous metals and associated minerals, Concord Resources notably enlarged its stake in New Day Aluminum following a deal with Dada Holdings, which retained a minority ownership interest.
In January 2021, the company said: “The Gramercy refinery produced about 590,000 tonnes of alumina in the second half of 2020, equating to an annualized total of around 1.18 million tonnes.”
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