Alpart to Ship First 35,000 Tonnes of Alumina on December 5

Alpart is scheduled to ship its first 35,000 tonnes of alumina on December 5, meeting a year-end deadline to export the product.

Minister of Transport and Mining, Hon. Mike Henry, made the disclosure at a JIS Think Tank on Tuesday (November 14), where he announced activities to mark National Minerals Week 2017.

“You can do the math, but that’s an immediate cash injection into the economy,” he said.

The Alpart plant in Nain, St. Elizabeth, was reopened in June by new owners Jiuquan Iron and Steel Company (JISCO) Limited.

The company has proposed to invest some US$3 billion in the upgrading of the plant over a three-year period, increasing capacity from 1.65 million tonnes to two million.

“That is an exciting special economic zone development. They are going to build a new plant; they’re going to dredge the Kaiser port and intensify the shipments that leave from the port,” he said.

“There’s to be an aluminium foil factory, a stainless steel plant, an aluminium sheet plant, a welding rod plant. This should create hundreds of (employment) opportunities,” he noted.

Meanwhile, he said that National Minerals Week 2017, which commences on November 19, will provide the opportunity to raise awareness about the mining sector and its contribution to economic growth.

“National Minerals Week will expose the whole sector. We want to increase the understanding and visibility of mining. We’re hoping to create a forum for sharing information and experiences,” he added.