Lightweight metals specialist Alcoa says that it will permanently close its Poços de Caldas primary aluminum smelter in Brazil.
The Poços aluminum powder plant, mine, refinery and casthouse will continue normal operations.
The smelter has been curtailed since May 2014 and the underlying market conditions that led to the curtailment have not improved, the company says. ‘The closure of the Poços smelter permanently removes a high-cost smelting facility from the Alcoa system and is another step in creating a more profitable primary metals business,’ said Alcoa global primary products president Bob Wilt. Once the Poços smelter is closed, Alcoa’s total global smelting capacity will be reduced by 96,000 metric tons, to 3.4 million metric tons. The Poços mine, refinery, aluminum powder plant and casthouse will continue normal operations.
This story is reprinted from material from Alcoa, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
