Factbox: Aluminum smelter cutbacks and closures
16/10/2014 19:17
Oct 16 (Reuters) - Many aluminum producers have cut loss-making capacity or
shut down completely as they struggle with low London Metal Exchange prices,
high energy costs and a flood of new capacity from China.
On Thursday, Novelis NVLXC.UL NVLX.UL said it will close its small Ouro
Preto aluminum smelter in Brazil, as the world's top rolled products maker
focuses on higher-value downstream products. ID:nL2N0SB1OM
The plant, which makes 18,000 tonnes per year of extrusion billet, will shut
at the end of the year, it said.
The following are details of many producers' efforts to cut loss-making
capacity and divest assets. In some cases, several plants have been saved from
the brink of closure.
ALCOA:
Alcoa has announced closures or curtailments representing about 800,000
tonnes, or 21 percent of total capacity, as its joint venture with Saudi Arabian
Mining Co expands.
Alcoa's global annual smelting capacity is 3.6 million tonnes.
In August, it announced it will permanently close its 150,000 tonne-per-year
Portovesme smelter, which has been curtailed since November 2012.
It also shuttered 147,000 tonnes of capacity at two smelters in Brazil,
closed Point Henry plant in Australia and its Massena East smelter in New York
with combined capacity of 315,000 tonnes.
RUSAL:
The world's biggest aluminum producer cut production by 8 percent to 3.9
million tonnes in 2013 after closing three smelters and plans to remove a
further 325,000 tonnes in 2014.
ALRO:
Romania's Alro SA ROALR.BX , one of Europe's biggest primary aluminum
smelters controlled by Vimetco NV VICOq.L said earlier in March it planned to
suspend some operations due to a surge in energy costs. ID:nL6N0M24T6
TALCO:
The Tajik Aluminium Company (TALCO), Central Asia's largest aluminum
smelter, cut production in January-June to 61,100 tonnes, or by 47 percent
year-on-year terms, due to low demand. ID:nL6N0Q02TT
RIO TINTO:
Rio Tinto RIO.L in October sold its shares in Alucam Group, the Cameroon
aluminum smelter which produces 100,000 tonnes a year and employs 570 people in
Edea. ID:nL6N0S92YX
The company shut a 100,000-tonnes-per-year smelter in Shawinigan, Quebec,
last year and has sold several smelters in the United States and France.
But Rio Tinto was forced in August 2013 to abandon a plan to spin off its
Pacific Aluminium business housing 13 underperforming smelting and alumina
businesses after failing to find a buyer. ID:nL4N0G94RD
The company continues to carry the burden of its $38 billion takeover of
Canada's Alcan, a 2007 deal which has racked up $30 billion in writedowns.
NORSK HYDRO:
The Norwegian producer took control in July of Rio Tinto's share of aluminum
smelter Soer-Norge Aluminum AS (Soeral) in Norway, with annual production
capacity of 180,000 metric tons.
In May, the company permanently closed its 180,000-tonne Kurri Kurri smelter
in Australia which was mothballed in 2012, and has focused on cutting costs and
modernizing plants to offset low aluminum prices.
Norsk Hydro NHY.OL slashed costs by $300 a tonne at the aluminum smelters
it fully owns by the end of 2013 and has said it will target savings of $180 a
tonne for its joint venture smelters by the end of 2016. ID:nL5N0JK1I7
ID:nL6N0PX0YO
BHP BILLITON:
The global mining group BHP.AX said in January it had started talks with
employees at its Bayside aluminum smelter in South Africa about possibly closing
the plant. ID:nL5N0KT0U8
The move came as it focused on core assets such as iron ore and looks at
divesting some non-core assets such as aluminum, nickel and manganese.
ID:nL6N0LN30G
ORMET:
In October 2013, the mid-sized U.S. producer ORMTQ.PK became the latest
casualty of low aluminum prices and high power costs, closing its
270,000-tonne-per-year smelter in Hannibal, Ohio. ID:nL1N0HU1UI
The company had filed for bankruptcy protection in February 2013.
ALUMINIUM DELFZIJL
Dutch smelter Aluminium Delfzijl (Aldel) filed for bankruptcy at the end of
December 2013 after failing to negotiate an energy deal in a years-long battle
to stay afloat. ID:nL6N0KH17B
The company, the last remaining smelter in the Netherlands and bought by
global industrial commodities company Klesch Group in 2009, produced more than
110,000 tonnes of new aluminum and recycled a further 50,000 tonnes of metal a
year.
TRIMET:
In May, Germany's largest aluminum producer bought insolvent German aluminum
producer Voerde Aluminium and said in January it will add capacity and jobs this
year at the two French plants it bought from miner Rio Tinto last December.
ID:nL6N0OE1HM ID:nL5N0L32CP
The company took control of the former Rio plants in February in a deal
backed by the French state and utility EDF EDF.PA , saving them from closure
and preventing the loss of about 500 jobs.
Annual production from the two sites in 2014 will rise to 140,000-150,000
tonnes from around 100,000 tonnes, bringing them back to full capacity.
ALUMINIJ MOSTAR
Bosnia's sole aluminum smelter ALUM.SJ again staved off closure in
September after clinching a deal to settle its debt to the state-run power
company. ID:nL6N0RI26X
It produces around 160,000 tonnes of aluminum a year and employs 850 people
directly in the Mostar area.
CENTURY ALUMINUM
The U.S. producer CENX.O , which is controlled by Glencore PLC GLEN.L ,
has agreed deals with the Kentucky power regulator to allow it to buy power on
the grid to feed its two smelters, Sebree and Hawesville, which operate in the
state.
Those plants were threatened with closure without the new energy deals.
Century bought Sebree, which has capacity of 205,000 tonnes per year, from Alcan
in April last year. ID:nL2N0DG1X0
(Compiled by Josephine Mason and Luc Cohen; editing by G Crosse)
((Josephine.Mason@thomsonreuters.com; +1-646-223-8925, Reuters Messaging:
josephine.mason.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: ALUMINIUM CUTBACKS/