Bankrupt Sherwin Alumina's recent decision to close its 1.65 million mt/year refinery in Gregory, Texas, led to the cancellation Thursday of a scheduled court hearing on a longstanding bauxite supply dispute between Sherwin and US aluminum producer Noranda Aluminum, which is also undergoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
Noranda Bauxite, a subsidiary of Noranda Aluminum, filed August 4 an "emergency motion" with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri in St. Louis for an expedited hearing on its claim that Sherwin reneged on a commitment to buy 46,500 dry mt of bauxite for $1.27 million from Noranda's St. Ann bauxite mining operation in Jamaica.
But Sherwin recently disclosed plans to shut its refinery later this year on the Texas Gulf Coast. As a result, it will not need additional bauxite shipments from Noranda.
Noranda spokesman John Parker said in an email Thursday that the decision to cancel the scheduled hearing "relates to Sherwin's previous announcement that they're shutting down the refinery."
Noranda attorney Christopher Lawhorn advised the court that the bauxite matter would be addressed during a September 1 hearing in the St. Louis courtroom. Lawhorn could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Sherwin, a Glencore subsidiary, agreed in April to sell all of its assets, including the refinery, to Corpus Christi Alumina, an affiliate of Commodity Funding, its senior secured lender. CCA submitted the highest bid of $54.5 million.
CCA has not indicated what it plans to do with Sherwin's assets. Sherwin filed for bankruptcy on January 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas in Corpus Christi.
Noranda, meanwhile, received approval this week from Missouri Judge Barry Schermer for the sale of its downstream business to Sweden's Granges at an enterprise value of $324.2 million. The deal is scheduled to close August 22. Noranda filed for bankruptcy February 8.
Noranda's downstream operations include three aluminum rolling mills located in Tennessee, Arkansas and North Carolina, with total capacity of 224,528 mt/year.
