On Friday, March 11, Noranda Aluminium Holding Corporation (NAHC) was approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing.

The order will enable the company to continue to pay employee wages, salaries, and health and disability benefits.

Noranda, which has subsidiary Noranda Bauxite Ltd in Jamaica, is one of the largest producers of aluminium in North America. On February 8, the company filed for a court-supervised restructuring process under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri entered a final order granting the Company authority to access up to US$165 million in financing on March 11.

Noranda said the final orders “will help ensure that Noranda is in a position to continue to operate its business in the ordinary course while the company evaluates the value-maximising options for its various business operations”.

Kip Smith, Noranda’s president and chief executive officer, was quoted in a company release as saying this will aid in the restructuring process.

“We are pleased that the court has given final approval for our DIP financing, which provides more than US$35 million in incremental liquidity, and the other First Day motions so we can continue moving forward in our restructuring process,” he stated.

The release noted that Noranda intends to use the court-supervised process to “stabilise its upstream operations as it explores ways to make them economically viable”.

The alumina business, located in Gramercy, Louisiana, and which is still in production, completed expansion of its non-metallurgical or chemical business product capacity by approximately 50 per cent at the end of February, it was disclosed.

Noranda, in its release, said the foil business remains in production and it remains profitable and cash-positive.

The company noted that it has filed with the court a motion seeking approval of bidding procedures for a court-supervised auction process for this business unit. A hearing regarding those procedures is scheduled for March 21, 2016.

Some creditors are challenging its push to sell its foil business, however. As noted in the daily bankruptcy review on Dow Jones’ website, junior creditors are concerned that the sale process is too hurried.

But senior creditors say the best way to preserve value is to get it into the hands of new owners.

Noranda’s downstream, or flat-rolled products business, is one of the largest aluminium foil producers in North America and consists of four rolling mill facilities.