Swedish mining firm Boliden has partially resumed production at its Rönnskär copper smelter in Skelleftehamn, Sweden, following a production halt last month due to a fire at the facility.
The miner said all the production lines at the smelter will be ready for production during this month, except for the electrolytic refinery, which was completely destroyed due to the fire.
Boliden noted that copper production is planned to take place in the form of anodes instead of cathodes until further notice, which will affect its commercial business model.
Furthermore, the company has initiated redundancy consultation at the Rönnskär smelter as a result of the fire. The move could impact 190 jobs at the smelter.
In a press statement, Boliden said: “The work to transform customer base from copper cathode customers to copper anode customers is ongoing and it is not certain that all production lines that were undamaged by the fire will be run at full capacity given the changed commercial conditions.
“Since further production lines may be closed or operate at limited capacity, the redundancy consultation is broader than just concerning the positions at the electrolytic refinery.”
The Rönnskär copper smelter receives deliveries of copper and lead concentrates from Boliden’s mines and from external suppliers.
Boliden has written down a book value of Skr88m ($8.15m) as a result of the complete destruction of the electrolytic refinery.
The company also reserved an additional Skr75m ($6.94m) for costs related to the demolition, cleaning and restoration work of the fire-damaged area.
In June 2023, Boliden decided to place the Tara zinc mine in Ireland on care and maintenance owing to financial losses.
The business’ financial losses are due to factors, including operational challenges, reduced zinc prices, high energy prices and general cost inflation.
