The government says its looking forward to working with Century Aluminium Company as the new managing partner of the Jamalco Bauxite Company in Clarendon.

In a statement on Tuesday, Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke says the government notes the announcement about Century’s acquisition of 55% interest in Jamalco from The Noble Group .

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

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

The ministry statement says 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, is required.

It adds that with the transfer of Noble’s share-ownership to Century, the necessary investments are expected to be made, in association with CAP to improve Jamalco’s operating efficiency and to restore the facility to a top place among the top two quartiles of the global ranking of alumina producers.

The minister says furthermore, Century is aligned with the government on the priority of transitioning Jamalco from an unincorporated joint venture legal structure arrangement to a limited liability company structure.

He states that these efforts will continue and are expected to gain increased momentum and achieve completion.

Century Aluminium Company is a global producer of primary aluminium, operating smelters in the United States and Ireland.

Century has been one of the largest customers of the Jamalco refinery and alumina produced by Jamalco has been used in all its smelters.

The acquisition of the 55% ownership in Jamalco is expected to assure century of a predictable, long-term supply of high-quality alumina, allowing for efficiencies associated with vertical integration from bauxite to aluminium.

The finance minister says with the involvement of century, an experienced operator in the industry, Jamalco is expected to benefit from the know-how, technical and systems support, purchasing economies, among other things.

These are expected to yield improved efficiencies in its operation.

The ministry statement says Jamalco is expected to continue to honour all existing employment contracts and terms and conditions of employment, including the collective labour agreements for both salaried and hourly employees and the existing compensation arrangements for contractors.