Nyrstar says to suspend operations at two U.S. zinc mines

Nyrstar NV

01/11/2023 12:32

LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Nyrstar said it plans to
temporarily close two zinc mines in the U.S. state of Tennessee
at the end of November due to weak prices and the impact of
inflation.
    Dutch-based Nyrstar, majority owned by trading and logistics
company Trafigura, said in a statement it will "temporarily
pause production operations" on Nov. 30 at its Middle Tennessee
Mines.
    That operation consists of two underground zinc mines,
Gordonsville and Cumberland, according to Nyrstar's website.
    Nyrstar does not disclose production data for individual
mine operations, but the Middle Tennessee processing plant has a
capacity of 3 million metric tons of ore and 50,000 tons of zinc
concentrates annually, a spokesperson said.
    During the suspension, Nyrstar will conduct drilling
operations to find additional zinc, germanium and gallium
resources, it added.
    In July, Nyrstar said it was looking at germanium and
gallium projects in Australia, Europe and the United States,
which could help ease any shortages created by China's export
controls on the materials used for computer chips.
    Zinc prices  CMZN3  on the London Metal Exchange have
slumped 16% so far this year, but were up 2.5% at $2,492 a
metric ton on Wednesday.

 (Reporting by Eric Onstad, editing by David Evans)
 ((eric.onstad@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 7093; Twitter https://twitter.com/reutersEricO;
 Reuters Messaging: eric.onstad.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))