New company to acquire majority ownership in Jamalco

United States-based Century Aluminum Company is to acquire Noble's 55% ownership interest in bauxite company Jamalco.

The company says the transaction should close by the end of April.

Jamalco is a joint venture between Noble Group and Clarendon Alumina Production (CAP), which is owned by the Jamaican government.

Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, Century says a wholly owned subsidiary will acquire General Alumina Holdings Limited, a Noble subsidiary and owner of Noble's 55% interest in Jamalco.

“This acquisition is highly strategic for Century as it secures a predictable, long-term supply of alumina, our most critical raw material, and achieves increased transparency and control of our supply chain,” said President and Chief Executive Officer of Century, Jesse Gary, in a statement today.

“Acquiring this interest in Jamalco allows us to integrate our aluminum smelting operations with this critical upstream supply of bauxite and alumina to create a more balanced and robust operational footprint, resulting in an organisation that is better positioned to deliver strong performance through industry cycles,” he continued.

With an annual alumina production capacity of approximately 1.4 million tonnes and a workforce of over 900 employees, Gary noted that Jamalco is a well-known and highly regarded organisation with a world-class operational team.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance says the Government looks forward to working with Century to maximise Jamalco's value.

In November 2021, the refinery experienced a fire that engulfed the power plant, halting production for almost a year before partial production resumed on a single digester basis in August 2022.

In order to restore the refinery to its rated capacity of 1.4 million tonnes, a series of further investments, referred to as Project Restore, are required, the finance ministry points out.

"With the transfer of Noble's share-ownership to Century, the necessary investments are expected to be made, in association with Clarendon Alumina Production, to improve Jamalco's operating efficiency.

"Furthermore, Century is aligned with the GOJ on the priority of transitioning Jamalco from an unincorporated joint venture legal structure arrangement to a limited liability company structure. These efforts will therefore continue and are expected to gain increased momentum and achieve completion."

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