Commodity firm to purchase, reopen Burnside terminal

Trafigura, an international commodity trader, says it will purchase a shuttered terminal in Burnside for $28 million and reopen it, creating 100 jobs. The Dutch company, which has operations in the U.S., says it will spend $100 million to reopen the facility, which was idled in January 2008. That work will create 200 to 300 construction jobs. Trafigura plans to use the Ascension Parish terminal to ship coal, bauxite and alumina. Simon Collins, a Trafigura director, says coal shipping facilities in the U.S. are maxed out, so there is a real opportunity for the Ascension terminal. “The development of Burnside as one of the country’s biggest terminals will create new opportunities to establish optimized flows of coal, both in and out of the USA,” says Collins. Ormet, which owns the terminal, is selling the facility. Last month, Ormet announced plans to reopen the alumina refinery next to the terminal, a move that will create about 250 jobs.