Alpart to be reopened in early 2016 - Paulwell

Alpart, one of Jamaica’s main alumina refineries, closed since 2009, is to resume refining operations in the first quarter of 2016, if not before, according to Phillip Paulwell, the country’s minister of mining & energy.

In his contribution to the annual Budget Debate on Wednesday, Paulwell told the House of Representatives that the company had decided to switch to natural gas for its energy needs at Alpart. Accordingly, he said, the PACE Group had been contracted to build the required infrastructure, while British Petroleum (BP) will supply the gas, “which will be delivered as compressed natural gas (CNG).”

Notwithstanding the 2016 timetable for reopening of the Alpart refinery, Paulwell told the House of Representatives that if there is a significant improvement in the global aluminum market in the meantime, the plant will be reopened immediately.

Alpart (Alumina Partners of Jamaica) was constructed at Nain in St. Elizabeth in 1969 and was officially opened in early 1970. It was first closed during the downturn in the aluminum industry in the mid 1980s before reopening after a few years; it remained operational thereafter until the second closure in 2009.

Regarding the WINDALCO refinery at Ewarton in St. Catherine, the minister told the House that it was now back to full production, with the size of the workforce standing at 717, moving up from 600.

Following that 2009 closure, the plant was reopened on a reduced production schedule in 2010 and in October 2012, UC Rusal entered into several agreements with the Government of Jamaica for various steps to be taken to ensure its long term viability and that of the company’s other holdings in the country. The government agreed to waive receipts from the Bauxite Levy for a year while the company undertook to construct a coal plant (costing US$100 million and employing 800 persons during construction) to supply the energy needs of the Ewarton refinery.

“They are far advanced in negotiations with potential builders of the coal plant at Ewarton, and with a local bank for financing, with those negotiations scheduled for completion in June" Paulwell reported.