Top Stories for Jan. 9, 2024:

1. Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) plans to fully curtail production at its Kwinana Alumina Refinery in Western Australia starting in the second quarter of 2024 due to factors including its age, scale, operating costs and current bauxite grades.

The curtailment will include a reduction of the workforce from 800 to roughly 250 in the third quarter, when all alumina production will end. Workforce reductions will continue until the third quarter of 2025, reaching roughly 50 employees.

Due to these changes, Alcoa expects approximately $70 million of annual improvements, starting in Q3 of this year, but it will also incur restructuring charges of $180 to $200 million in Q1.

Matt Reed, Alcoa's executive vice president and chief operations officer, commented: "Today's curtailment decision comes only after thorough and careful deliberation, and we acknowledge that this action will impact workers, business partners and the community.... We will work closely with our employees to provide support with transitioning to other opportunities.... This includes potential redeployment within our business or assistance to facilitate employment at other workplaces."

2. Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:HYMC) announced phase 2 drill results at the Hycroft Mine in Nevada.

The drilling results confirmed the presence of well-developed veins containing very high-grade silver. Additionally, two new trends of continuous high-grade silver have been identified, extending more than 600 meters and 800 meters, respectively, with expectations that further drilling will show these trends intersecting.

"These recent silver assay results are very exciting as they continue to define and expand the recently discovered high-grade silver trend in Brimstone," said Vice President of Exploration Alex Davidson. "Evaluation of high-grade silver results from 2023 in both Brimstone and Vortex in conjunction with existing drilling and geophysics has defined two significant silver trends; the Vortex-Brimstone and Vortex-Camel trends, striking northeast and northwest, respectively.... Both trends have continuous high-grade silver greater than 137 g/t with areas of very high-grade silver (> 2000 g/t) in well-defined veins."

3. ZK International Group Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:ZKIN) announced an expansion initiative into Southeast Asia and the Middle East to meet the growing demand for sustainable infrastructure.

Chairman of ZK International Jiancong Huang commented: "Our decision to enter Southeast Asia and the Middle East aligns with our commitment to global growth and market leadership. These regions present exciting opportunities, and we are eager to bring our expertise, cutting-edge technology and sustainable solutions to contribute to the development of these markets."

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