Alcan poised to start Quebec smelter

Alcan Aluminum (AL-T) is only months away from starting up a large-scale greenfield smelter in Alma, Que., shareholders were told at the company’s annual meeting in Montreal.

The plant is 2.5 km west of the company’s existing Isle-Maligne smelter. Capital costs are estimated at US$1.8 billion, including related infrastructure and the extension of the casting centre. It will have an annual capacity of 375,000 tonnes of primary aluminum produced with 620 MW of hydroelectric power.

Site construction began in the spring of 1998 and has employed about 2,000 workers. Once commissioned, the smelter will employ about 700 workers, 425 of whom will be transferred from the Isle-Maligne smelter.

The facility will have a power substation, unloading and storage facilities for raw materials, pot relining shop, anode plant, casting centre, molten metal shipping centre, a closed-loop water process, and environmental protection and control equipment. The technology includes Pechiny AP-30 pre-baked anodes with dry scrubbers.

Farther afield, in Brazil, Alcan has started up a rolling complex in Pinda. These new projects reflect a decision made in the early 1990s to focus on the core business of low-cost primary metal and high-quality rolled products. As part of this strategy, the company sold off about 60 non-core businesses.

Looking ahead, Alcan is considering major acquisitions and partnerships, including a merger with a Swiss company. Alcan President Jacques Bougie told shareholders that the transatlantic union would result in the creation of a global leader in aluminum and specialty packaging, with US$12.4 billion in annual revenue and some 60,000 employees.