Initial Company Statement Regarding Recent Articles Regarding Atalco Gramercy
June 5, 2025, Gramercy, Louisiana: Atalco Gramercy is not only the last remaining alumina refinery in the USA, it is a key supplier for the production of high purity aluminum for aerospace and key defense applications, as well as a wide variety of manufacturing products critical to the US economy. The Gramercy refinery has been a key economic driver in the region for 70 years, sustaining approximately 550 high-paying manufacturing jobs with over 70% United Steelworkers and an over 50% minority workforce. The refinery produces one of the lowest carbon aluminas globally and has significantly advanced industry leading filter press technology for its residue.
Over recent days Louisiana Illuminator (LaIlluminator) published articles that included false statements and that were grossly misrepresenting of, among other things, alleged breaches in the Atalco Gramercy refinery’s levee systems and the release of material from the levees that contain the bauxite residue that remains once alumina is extracted from bauxite. The articles also fail to mention or incorrectly describe the self-reported nature of incidents, the volumes of reports provided to state and federal agencies, as well as events that occurred under emergency declarations due to extreme weather events.
Bauxite and Alumina:
• Bauxite is not a chemical as was incorrectly reported by LaIlluminator, it is a naturally occurring soil that contains numerous minerals including aluminum oxide (alumina) and iron oxide.
• The alumina extracted from bauxite is the primary source for aluminum, that is an essential component of our everyday lives in countless products and industries.
• In addition to the manufacture of aluminum, Gramercy’s alumina is also an essential component for water treatment, flame retardants, catalysts required for critical oil and gas separation and many other aspects we depend on in our daily lives.
• The bauxite utilized at Gramercy is exclusively sourced from Jamaica and is the soil that represents the natural landscape of Jamaica, within which Jamaicans have thrived for centuries.
• The bauxite mined in Jamaica through the alumina refining process at Gramercy is in the high 1st quartile of global refineries with respect to Co2 emissions per ton of alumina produced, as externally validated by CarbonChain UK.
Levee Related Issues:
• There have never been any material breaks of the levees at the Gramercy refinery, also referred to as “mud lakes”.
• Any comparative reference of issues with the Gramercy levees to the Hungarian alumina refinery 2010 dam failure incident at an alumina refinery in Hungary is deceptive and misleading, with no basis in fact, and completely contrary to detailed geotechnical assessments by external levee experts.
• Gramercy’s levee issues have been limited to periodic incidents of seepages of largely surface water or the minor deterioration of the far outside levee slope, both issues that are common, managed and rectified with the support of third-party geo-technical engineers for such levee systems and in consultation with government agencies such as Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ).
• These largely surface issues associated with the levees have not, and do not, threaten the stability of the engineered levee systems at Gramercy.
• Due to the nature of the residual material stored within these continuously surface- drained storage areas, it naturally settles and consolidates over time.
• Atalco Gramercy does not store sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) in the mud lakes. While there will be some highly diluted residual caustic soda in the bauxite residue stored in the mud lakes, the vast majority of the caustic soda is contained and recycled in the primary process circuit. In addition, any liquid in the mud lakes is heavily diluted further by the natural addition of rainwater across these large surface areas.
• Any marginal seepages or storm-related run-off are designed to be managed through the refinery’s extensive water management and related systems surrounding the mud lakes.
Water Monitoring & Reporting:
• In addition, the refinery has always adhered to extensive regulatory water monitoring and reporting requirements, with all results available in the public domain.
• It should be noted that the multiple samples referenced by LaIlluminator were taken from within the mud lake containment systems, and none of the areas sampled inside of our site would be linked to any drinking water systems.
• Further, samples from public ditches include contents from other external sources, including outflows from several other industrial and non-industrial sources and the public in general.
Levee Stability:
• Aside from the rigorous engineering design standards of the Gramercy levees, which are also available in the public domain, the refinery’s management systems include daily internal assessments of the levees and related systems, as well as regular external geotechnical assessments of the levees from civil engineering companies specializing in such levee systems.
• One such company is used by the US Army Corp of Engineers to provide technical expertise in the management of the Mississippi River levee systems.
• Assessments from such external engineering companies as recently as February 2025, confirm the stability of the levee systems to the rigorous design and construction standards required for short- and long-term strength, with respect to piezometric and shear conditions for static loading in our region.
Best in Class Residue Management Investments:
• While incorrectly describing the residue storage systems at the facility and the historical nature of bauxite residue storage systems in the US, the article also fails to mention Gramercy’s $30+ million-dollar investment in world class bauxite residue filter presses.
• The presses convert the bauxite residue at Gramercy to a dense and clay-like material that further reduces the environmental footprint from each tonne of alumina produced by more than 35%. This essentially eliminates any wet-storage levee risk, as well as mitigating any future dusting risk.
• In fact, one of the mud lakes at Gramercy is not a wet lake at all; but a dry storage facility for the clay-like filter pressed residue.
• With current capability to dry press approximately 60% of residue generated at the refinery, additional investment is in process to increase that capability to 100% of the refinery’s output.
• Atalco Gramercy is one of the first, and still very few, western world alumina refineries to have invested in this enhanced environmental capability.
US Alumina Refining:
• A decade ago, there were four alumina refineries left in the USA. Three major refineries in Corpus Christi, TX, Point Comfort, TX, and the Gramercy, LA refinery, with a fourth and much smaller refinery in Burnside, LA.
• To report that the Gramercy refinery was the first US refinery to experience levee issues is wholly inaccurate. The minor levee issues that Gramercy has experienced had been experienced by all the other US alumina refineries periodically.
• Over the last decade, every one of these refineries, except Gramercy, has been forced to shut down due to the global price distortion because of Chinese state-sponsored dumping from the 42 Chinese alumina refineries into the global market.
• Although Gramercy has survived thus far, the Chinese dumping has worsened, in addition to global inflation, increasing interest rates and an absence of any national support from tariffs for alumina products.
• The Atalco Gramercy refinery is the last line of US supply of this critical mineral to make essential US aluminum for defense and other critical manufacturing sectors.
While the Gramercy refinery is strategically moving away from traditional bauxite residue wet storage, the refinery has commissioned an engineering review of all residue storage areas by a Canadian engineering company with extensive global experience in water and mine tailing levee systems. All the minor issues identified have been repaired and/or have had repairs commenced over the last 10 weeks.
Atalco Gramercy will continue to work closely and cooperate with all applicable authorities and regulators as we tirelessly work to ensure safe and environmentally responsible operations of the Gramercy refinery.
About Atlantic Alumina: Atlantic Alumina’s holdings include its ATALCO Gramercy Operations, located in Gramercy, Louisiana, which produces smelter grade alumina for the production of aluminum and chemical grade aluminas for non-metallurgical applications, and Discovery Bauxite, located in St. Ann, Jamaica, which mines and ships bauxite globally for metallurgical and non-metallurgical applications through its partnership with Jamaica Bauxite Mining Limited.
Contact: Communications@ATALCO.com