COVER STORY
Noranda Bauxite changes ownership again, Concord promises continuity
Published:Friday | July 16, 2021 | 12:09 AMHuntley Medley - Associate Business Editor
F or the second time in five years, Noranda Jamaica Bauxite, an operation of American company New Day Aluminum Holdings LLC, has changed ownership.
Concord Resources Holdings Limited, a former minority shareholder in New Day Aluminum, which itself is a member of the DADA Holdings Group, this month acquired majority shares in New Day the company from other shareholders in the DADA group.
However, the local management of Noranda Jamaica’s mining operation, which produces and ships bauxite to Gramercy, Louisiana for processing into alumina, says the Discovery Bay, St Ann-based mining operation will not be affected by the ownership change.
Noranda/New Day is a minority partner in the Jamaica bauxite operation, with a 49 per cent stake, but is also the managing partner. The Government of Jamaica owns the other 51 per cent.
Concord is now the majority owner of New Day’s principal holdings, which include its Noranda Alumina refinery and NICHE Chemical non-metallurgical alumina business in Gramercy, Louisiana, as well as Noranda Bauxite Jamaica. In a statement on July 14, New Day said its headquarters will remain in Gramercy, Louisiana, and that its president, John Habisreitinger, will remain in his post, reporting to Concord CEO Mark Hansen.
The price of the acquisition was not disclosed.
“We thank the Government of Jamaica for its ongoing support, and we look forward to working closely again with them to strengthen and progress our partnership in the months and years ahead,” Hansen said as the acquisition was announced on Wednesday.
Noranda Bauxite Vice-President and General Manager Delroy Dell was upbeat about the continuity of the local business against the background of the ownership change.
“The company will continue to operate as Noranda Bauxite and will operate as a business unit of Concord,” Dell said via email to the Financial Gleaner.
“We do not foresee any impact or changes to the present operation, and employment should remain as is, bearing in mind any unpredictable (factors) in the global market. We will maintain continuity with the existing leadership of the company,” he said.
Concord describes itself as a global resources company founded in 2015 by its management and a group of experienced and largely American natural resources investors. The investment company is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with representative offices in New York and Connecticut in the United States, as well as in Hong Kong. It is said to run one of the largest independent smelter-grade alumina marketing operations in the global industry. Concord says it has built a business producing over four million tons of non-ferrous metal commodity products per year while serving a worldwide market. The company adds that its management is also experienced in bauxite-mining and alumina-refining operations in Jamaica.
In October 2016 DADA Holdings, though its affiliate New Day, bought the upstream operations of Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation, including the Gramercy and St Ann works for US$24.4 million in a competitive auction. At the time, the bauxite mines in Jamaica were said to be capable of mining 5.2 million metric tonnes of bauxite ore per year. The alumina refinery in Gramercy produces both smelter-grade and chemical-grade alumina, and was said to have a capacity of 1.2 million metric tonnes of alumina per year.
After winning the auction, New Day obtained Cabinet approval from the Government of Jamaica to transfer mining leases from Noranda to New Day. An emailed response from Noranda Bauxite said the Jamaican government had been formally advised of the change of ultimate ownership of the Noranda assets, but noted that a transfer of mining licences was not necessary as the ultimate owner remained a current shareholder of New Day.
“The Government of Jamaica is a valuable partner in Noranda Bauxite operations and would have been duly informed of matters of this nature,” Noranda Jamaica Bauxite said from its Discovery Bay head office.
Mining Minister Robert Montague was unavailable to provide any comment from the Jamaican government on the development.
New Day, in its statement, noted that DADA Holdings had dedicated significant resources to repositioning the business since they acquired it in 2016.
“We are extremely excited about the industry experience, global reach, and potential that Concord brings to the business,” Habisreitinger said.