Mine workers laid off when Nyrstar abruptly shut down mine operations last December will soon have an opportunity to return to work as the company announced plans today to reopen the county’s two mines.
In a statement on their website, which can be found here, Nyrstar announced their intent to reopen their three mines in Middle Tennessee, all three of which are located in here in Smith County.
Nyrstar’s decision to reopen was made due to the “current strength in zinc prices” and their “expectation that these prices are sustainable,” according to the statement on their website.
“The restart of our Middle Tennessee operations will allow Nyrstar to generate additional net positive cash flow resulting from the higher zinc price environment, and improving the quality of the feed book for the Clarksville smelter at a time of tightened concentrate markets. The Middle Tennessee operations produce very high-quality concentrates that our Clarksville smelter can capitalise on through its refining and recovery processes,” says Bill Scotting, CEO of Nyrstar.
“We are continuously evaluating every aspect of the business to sustainably improve cash flow in these volatile markets. As the Middle Tennessee Mines’ infrastructure was maintained in good condition, I am confident that we will see a smooth transition into production and reintegration with operations at the East Tennessee Mines and Clarksville.”
Ore production is expected to commence in Q1 of 2017, and and mill processing operations to commence in Q2 2017. Full capacity of 50,000 tonnes per annum of zinc in concentrate is expected to be reached by November 2017. The capital costs of the re-start are estimated to be approximately USD$14 million, to occur over 12 months until the mill is at full production.
