Oct 13 2004
OM Group, Inc. today confirmed that an electrical malfunction at its Big Hill smelter joint venture located in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, could result in a disruption to the company’s cobalt refining operations. No injuries were reported.
Steve Dunmead, vice president and general manager, cobalt, stated, “It’s too early to predict how long it will take to replace the damaged equipment and make the necessary repairs. We expect to meet contractual obligations for the foreseeable future through a combination of existing inventories either on hand or currently in transit to our refinery in Kokkola, Finland.
“As part of our contingency planning,” he concluded, “we are also considering accelerating the timing of the planned maintenance shutdown of the smelter scheduled for late 2004 or early 2005. Once that decision has been finalized, we will communicate fully to our customers and all parties concerned.”
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