Australian mining giant BHP Billiton has announced that it is planning to temporarily suspend production at its manganese alloy production facility TEMCO, located in George Town, Tasmania, by early to mid March 2012.
According to BHP Billiton's statement, TEMCO's international competitiveness has been affected by the strong Australian dollar and steady increases in input costs. Additionally, manganese alloy markets in Europe and North America have been weak and global prices remain low. Measures taken by the company have not been sufficient to counteract the increased costs of production or operating losses.
BHP Billiton will examine the long-term future of the operation over a three-month period, which will include extensive stakeholder consultation and review of all options.
There will be no changes regarding the permanent employees at TEMCO, but there will be job cuts regarding contracting partners. BHP Billiton stated that it will consider redeployment within BHP Billiton to preserve jobs.