Nyrstar NV once again shut down its Port Pirie lead smelter in South Australia, nearly two weeks after the operation restarted, Reuters reported Aug. 12, citing a company statement sent to the news wire.
The smelter resumed operations in late July following an unplanned blast furnace outage in May that resulted in a loss of 30,000 tonnes of lead. The facility produced 160,000 tonnes of lead in 2018, according to the company's website.
The latest closure was caused by an unidentified incident at the hearth of its primary smelter, the report said. Necessary furnace repairs will last several weeks. No injuries were reported, but the company is considering options including the restart of a sinter plant to maintain production.
Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd. recently took over Nyrstar following a restructuring.
