Alcoa will permanently close Poços de Caldas aluminium smelter

Alcoa will permanently close its Poços de Caldas primary aluminium smelter in Brazil on June 30, removing 96,000 tpy of its smelting capacity.

Alcoa will permanently close its Poços de Caldas primary aluminium smelter in Brazil on June 30, removing 96,000 tpy of its smelting capacity.

The smelter has been curtailed since May 2014 and the underlying market conditions that led to the curtailment have not improved, the lightweight materials firm said.

“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 3.4 million tonnes.

The Poços mine, refinery, aluminum powder plant and casthouse will continue normal operations.

As a result of the closure, Alcoa expects to face restructuring-related charges in the second quarter of 2015 of $100-$110 million after-tax, or $0.08-0.09 per share, of which about 60% is non-cash. 

Andrea Hotter 
ahotter@metalbulletin.com
Twitter: @andreahotter