Trafigura, through its wholly-owned subsidiary
Impala Warehousing (US) LLC, is to acquire Ormet’s Burnside
terminal at Burnside, Ascension Parish in Louisiana, USA for US$28
million.
Trafigura plans to invest around US$100
million to reopen the currently idled Burnside facility as a
state-of-the-art major bulk terminal for coal, bauxite and
alumina.
The Burnside facility was originally
constructed in 1956 alongside an alumina refinery, but closed in
January 2008. The alumina refinery alongside the bulk terminal is
not included in the purchase.
Trafigura will be examining a variety of
options for the engineering works and investment needed to
refurbish and expand the facility. It will be only the fourth
facility – and the only one with the possibility of both
rail-to-vessel and barge-to-vessel capabilities – on the
Mississippi and is set to become one of the top ten coal and bulk
logistics facilities in the USA.
As part of the transaction Trafigura will also
provide terminal services to Ormet’s alumina refinery, the most
important of which will be offloading bauxite and discharging
alumina.
The company expects a significant part of the
investment to be spent locally, with around 100 permanent terminal
operations jobs created.
After completion of the works, Trafigura is
targeting a throughput of around 10 million metric tonnes annually,
using bulk cargo ships of up to 120,000 deadweight tonnes.
Simon Collins, a director of Trafigura Beheer
BV, the Dutch registered commodities trading company, commented:
“We really are delighted by the opportunity this acquisition
presents us. We have been considering and studying this for a while
and have been impressed at the level of support, commitment, energy
and encouragement from Ascension Parish and the state of
Louisiana.
“We are aware that currently the US faces real
constraints in supplying coal. The twenty or so terminal facilities
across the country are simply maxed out. The development of
Burnside as one of the country’s biggest terminals will create new
opportunities to establish optimised flows of coal, both in and out
of the USA.
“The redeveloped terminal will reduce pressure
on existing facilities while providing a vitally needed multi-modal
logistics platform on the Mississippi.
“We are absolutely committed to
rehabilitating, maintaining and running the Burnside terminal to
the highest standards. This means being a good neighbour to
the people and businesses of Ascension Parish, the fastest growing
region within Louisiana. We will always be mindful of the
environmental importance of the Mississippi and the delta wetlands,
but also the rich cultural heritage locally. We will
therefore, of course, comply strictly with all parish, state and
federal requirements on environmental protection, management and
stewardship.”
Martijn Snijder, the CEO of Impala,
Trafigura’s wholly-owned logistics business, added: “There is still
a lot of work to be done to ensure we have the right mix of
capacity, equipment, ship size and capital investment. Investments
made today can take years to be fully effective and we want to make
sure that we match the terminal’s capacities with the supply and
demand for coal. We will be able to blend coal from different
sources to meet the exacting specifications of buyers and markets
wherever they may be. Furthermore, we particularly look forward to
working together with Ormet.”
ENDS
For further information please
contact:
Trafigura’s Global Press Office: +44 207 009
1708 or media@trafigura.com