Nyrstar NV advised on Sept. 29 that its metals-processing segment EBITDA will be affected by about €3 million to €5 million following a statewide power loss in South Australia that led to an outage at its Port Pirie zinc-lead smelter on Sept. 28.

The company used a backup diesel generator to sustain the site's blast furnace for several hours following the blackout.

"However, with the power outage continuing for a prolonged period, the slag in the blast furnace solidified and the blast furnace cannot be tapped," the company noted.

The blast furnace is expected to remain shut for approximately 10 to 14 days for repairs.

Commenting on the situation, CEO Bill Scotting said the outage is not expected to have any impact to the Port Pirie redevelopment schedule.

Recently, the company announced plans to revive its Middle Tennessee zinc mining operations in Tennessee, which have been under care and maintenance since December 2015.