Sherritt International Corp. will temporarily lay off 280 employees, or 47% of its Canadian workforce, for 90 days due to operational disruptions caused by expanded US sanctions on Cuba. The nickel and cobalt producer suspended direct participation in its Cuban joint venture in May and has since faced constrained liquidity. Its Fort Saskatchewan refinery in Alberta stopped refining metals in June after exhausting its feed inventory.
The refinery, which is the region’s only significant cobalt facility and one of just three nickel refineries, depends on Cuban feedstock. Restarting operations requires US government approvals. Sherritt received its first emergency license from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Oct. 19, authorizing fuel and sulfur supply to its Cuban operations.
Additional approvals are needed to resume mining and processing. Interim President and CEO Peter Hancock stated the company remains focused on restoring operations. The situation underscores vulnerabilities in North America’s critical-minerals supply chain.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing