Press Metal Aluminium has informed that a fire incident occurred at its Phase 3 Smelter in Samalaju Industrial Park, shortly after 11pm last night and has since been extinguished.
The smelter which is owned by its 80%-owned subsidiary, saw the affecting one hundred (100) pots out of the three hundred (300) pots in Phase 3 at the Samalaju smelter, while Phases 1 and 2 remain unaffected.
The company said swift evacuation procedures ensured there were no injuries or fatalities. Approximately 9% of its total smelting capacity (across Samalaju and Mukah) was impacted.
Press Metal estimates it will take approximately four months to restore operations of the damaged pots hence on a full year basis, this impacts about 3% of its annual smelting capacity. It also noted that the affected assets are adequately covered by insurance.