THE Government says it has received no notice that UC Rusal plans to sell Windalco and is seeking answers from the Russian company’s parent after a report that it has begun looking for buyers.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Mining Floyd Green told the Jamaica Observer that checks with Rusal’s local team had produced no information about a possible sale.

“Government has no record or notification any such plans and checks with the local UC Rusal team have indicated that they have no information or correspondence on that matter. We will be reaching out to the parent company regarding the unsubstantiated reports,” Green said.

Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Rusal had begun sounding out potential buyers for Windalco in Jamaica and its bauxite operation in Guyana. It cited people familiar with the matter, but said the plans were at an early stage and a sale might not happen. Rusal declined to comment to Bloomberg.

Windalco’s Kirkvine refinery which has been mothballed since 2009.

The report comes as producer prices in Jamaica’s bauxite and alumina industry remain below last year’s levels. The latest figures from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica show that the producer price index for bauxite mining and alumina processing was down 8.4 per cent in August compared with a year earlier. It rose 0.4 per cent from July, after falling 2.2 per cent that month.

Those figures cover the industry as a whole rather than Windalco’s sales. They do, however, show why any question about the future of a major alumina producer will draw attention from workers, suppliers, and the communities around its operations.

Meanwhile, Green pointed to Windalco’s recent spending as evidence that work on the ground is continuing.

“Windalco just completed a major haul road investment and are mining a new area,” he told the
Business Week.

The haul road in St Ann cost about US$29 million and opened access to more high-quality ore, Green told Parliament in May. However, the investment does not settle whether Rusal might consider selling the business.

Windalco’s operations include the Ewarton alumina refinery in St Catherine, bauxite mines and shipping facilities at Port Esquivel. Its assets also include the Kirkvine Works in Manchester. Rusal has owned the company outright since acquiring the Government’s remaining seven per cent stake in 2014.

— Karena Bennet