Nyrstar’s Middle Tennessee Mines operations to temporarily pause production
Tuesday October 31, 2023Gordonsville, Tennessee, USA, 31 October 2023 – Nyrstar's Middle Tennessee Mines in Gordonsville, TN, announced today that it will temporarily pause production operations on 30 November 2023. This decision comes after a thorough review and is in direct response to significantly weakened market conditions and inflationary impacts on input costs and operating margins.
As a result, employee layoffs will occur and Nyrstar plans to offer some employees alternative employment opportunities at its East Tennessee Mines and other mining operations in the US. During the pause in production operations, a limited number of staff will remain on site to ensure a safe and efficient ramp down of production activities and transition to essential services.
“We understand that the decision to pause production at the Middle Tennessee Mines will have a significant impact on our employees, their families and the local community. This decision was not taken lightly and we acknowledge the challenges this may present. These actions in no way reflect the skills and commitment of our talented team at Middle Tennessee Mines, but are a direct response to the current business conditions. We thank all members of our team for their continued support and firmly believe that this pause is necessary in these challenging market conditions in order to ensure the long-term sustainability and profitability of the mines.”, said Bill Hart, Nyrstar's Vice President Environment, Health & Safety, Human Resources and Corporate Affairs for North American Mining.
During this temporary pause in production operations, Nyrstar plans to conduct drilling to explore and define additional zinc, germanium, and gallium resources to position the company to increase the supply to Nyrstar’s Clarksville, TN smelter upon completion of a planned investment to enable on-site germanium and gallium recovery. Once operations resume, the Middle Tennessee Mines -as part of Nyrstar’s Tennessee-based ‘mine to metal’ value chain- will supply diversified critical minerals to the US market. This will reduce reliance on foreign supply chains and help build a domestic supply chain critical to the US economy, clean energy, high tech and national security while providing quality jobs in local communities.
Nyrstar’s mining business will continue to meet its contractual obligations to supply its customer, the Nyrstar Clarksville, TN smelter, with concentrates from its East Tennessee Mines’ operations so that the Nyrstar Clarksville smelter can continue to meet the US demand for domestically produced zinc. It will also be supplemented with concentrates from external sources. Nyrstar Clarksville is not expected to be affected by the temporary pause in production at the Middle Tennessee Mines’ operations.
This announcement follows engagement between Nyrstar’s Middle Tennessee Mines management and Middle Tennessee Mines employees through a WARN Act notification.
The situation will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. Production at Middle Tennessee Mines will resume as soon as it is economically viable or once the proposed gallium and germanium production capacity at Nyrstar Clarksville comes on line in the next few years.
-ENDS-
About Nyrstar:
Nyrstar is an international producer of critical minerals and metals essential for a low carbon future.
With a market leading position in zinc and lead, Nyrstar has mining, smelting and other operations located in Europe, the United States and Australia and employs approximately 4,000 people. Its Corporate Office is based in Budel-Dorplein, the Netherlands.
The company’s operations are located close to key customers and major transport hubs to facilitate reliable and efficient delivery of raw materials and distribution of finished products.
Nyrstar’s operating business is wholly owned by Trafigura, one of the world’s leading independent commodity trading and supply chain logistics companies. Visit www.nyrstar.com.
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