Press Metal to restart ops at smelter in a month

Press Metal Bhd said it will restart operations at its Samalaju smelting plant within a month, following a decision to cease operations after a fire incident that occurred last Sunday.

The group halted trading in its shares for one hour yesterday, between 2.30pm and 3.30pm in view of the announcement. Its stock was down almost 4%, or 11 sen on the news, closing at RM2.69.

Press Metal told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that it has yet to finalise the financial impact of the fire incident at the smelting plant belonging to its subsidiary, Press Metal Bintulu Sdn Bhd in Samalaju Industrial Park, Sarawak.

However, the group, believes it is adequately insured pending the insurers assessment and loss survey.

Press Metal said even though the fire disrupted the electricity supply to other smelting pots, the temperature of those pots were sufficient to prevent the molten aluminium from getting solidified pending restoration of the electricity supply.

Subsequently, however, despite electricity supply being restored and the pots emitting heat, the continued operation of these pots were not stable and became more risky for the smelting operation over the last couple of days.

"Hence, in the interest of safety for the plant and its operations as well as the workers, the company has decided to cease its operations pending a clean-up and to carry out repair for these damaged pots and the necessary testing before commissioning," it said.