Franklin, Tennessee - January 8, 2016 - Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation announced Friday, January 8th that production has been idled at two of the three pot lines at its aluminum smelter in New Madrid following an electrical supply circuit failure.
The electrical supply circuit failure occurred shortly before 1:00 p.m. Last Thursday. No serious injuries were reported. Noranda is assessing the incident to determine its root cause. The third pot line was not directly affected and production in that line has continued.
As Noranda's Flat-Rolled Products business sources metal from a portfolio of suppliers, the Company believes it has access to sufficient sources of aluminum to meet customer commitments for flat-rolled products. The Company is evaluating its ability to meet customer commitments for its primary aluminum value-added products.
Because the Company's review of the incident and its impact on operations is in the early stages, the Company has not established a timeline for resuming production in the two idled pot lines. Accordingly, the Company is taking steps to move to a one pot line operation and to adjust staffing and other activities to match this lower level of production at the smelter. The Company is also reviewing the impact to alumina production at its refinery in Gramercy, Louisiana and its bauxite mining operation in St. Ann, Jamaica.
No estimates are available at this time regarding the financial impact of the incident. However, the Company anticipates a substantial portion of costs and damages resulting from the incident will be covered by property and business interruption insurance.