Nyrstar is in the final stages of restarting its primary top submerged lance (TSL) furnace and peripherals at its Port Pirie lead smelter in Australia, as part of an A$20 million ($13.71 million) investment to allow the site resume full production, the company said Monday.
Required approvals for the restart have been received from the regulator, SafeWork South Australia, said Nyrstar, a subsidiary of global metals trader Trafigura.
The sinter plant was shut down on November 6 to facilitate the work required to restart the TSL. The warming up of the furnace to "cure" the newly replaced refractory bricks has begun and it will take several days before the furnace will be ready for the first feed, which is expected on November 14, Nyrstar said. The recent investment and refurbishing of the primary TSL should result in further reduction in emissions, improved operability, and contribute to more stable operations at the plant, it said.
Port Pirie is Nyrstar's only lead production facility. Its lead metal production fell 7% year on year in 2018 to 160,000 mt, and it issued a force majeure declaration in June during a halt due to technical problems, followed by a further stoppage in August due to a smelter incident. The majority of its lead metal is sold to Trafigura under an offtake agreement.
Trafigura did not immediately disclose Monday what Port Pirie's expected full production level will be and when this will be reached.
Source: Platts |
