Alcoa to Expand Sao Luis, Brazil - Alumar - Aluminum Smelter by 63,000 Metric Tons.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- Alcoa (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :AA) today announced that its Brazilian 100 percent equity owned subsidiary, Alcoa Aluminio S.A., will begin expanding capacity at its Sao Luis São Lu·is A city of northeast Brazil on an offshore island in the Atlantic Ocean east-southeast of Belém. It was founded by the French in 1612 and named in honor of Louis XIII. Population: 910,000. (Alumar) aluminum smelter immediately. Aluminio will expand its share of the smelting operations in Sao Luis by 30 percent, or 63,000 metric tons per year (mtpy), with an investment of US$ 130 million, bringing Alcoa Aluminio's share of smelting capacity there to 262,000 metric tons per year (mtpy). When complete, Alcoa's share of output from the overall smelter will grow from 54 to 60 percent. Construction of the expansion will begin immediately, with production expected to begin in the third quarter of 2005. The Alumar facility is a non-incorporated joint venture, with BHP Billiton BHP Billiton is the world's largest mining company.[1] Its origin is in the 2001 merger of Australia's Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) and the UK's Billiton, which has a South African background. The result is a dual-listed company. . Upon completion of this expansion, total smelting capacity at the Alumar consortium will increase from 370,000 mtpy to 433,000 mtpy. The Alumar smelting expansion was enabled through Aluminio's previously announced (see press release dated June 18, 2004 on www.businesswire.com or www.alcoa.com) completion of a 20-year agreement with Eletronorte, a Brazilian regional energy producer and seller, to buy up to 500 megawatts of hydro-powered electricity annually. The expansion will be implemented consistent with Alcoa's principles and philosophies regarding sustainable development Sustainable development is a socio-ecological process characterized by the fulfilment of human needs while maintaining the quality of the natural environment indefinitely. The linkage between environment and development was globally recognized in 1980, when the International Union . In addition to this smelting expansion, Alcoa and the other joint venture owners of the Alumar refinery are actively exploring the opportunity for immediate brownfield expansion of the alumina refinery by 2 million mtpy on the same site The Alumar refinery is jointly owned by BHP Billiton (36%), Alcan (10%), Alcoa Aluminio (35.1%) and Abalco S.A. (18.9%). Abalco is part of the Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals is a joint venture between Alumina Limited (40% share) and Alcoa (60% share) and is abbreviated to AWAC. AWAC's business is the mining of bauxite, the extraction of alumina (aluminium oxide) and the smelting of aluminium. (AWAC) enterprise, owned 60% by Alcoa and 40% by Alumina Ltd. Preliminary design studies have already been completed. The alumina expansion calls for a retrofit of the existing unit and the addition of a second, state-of-the-art unit at the refinery. Upon completion, the facility's capacity will be 3.3 million mtpy. Assuming successful approval processes with government environmental and others agencies a decision to move forward with the proposed $680 million project is expected to be made in the second half of 2004. It is expected the project will be completed by early 2007. Alcoa also is studying development of the Juruti bauxite bauxite (bôk`sīt, bŏk`–), mixture of hydrated aluminum oxides usually containing oxides of iron and silicon in varying quantities. reserve in Brazil. Subject to government agencies approval a decision to move forward on this bauxite reserve project, which is estimated to require investments of approximately $350 million, is also expected to be made in the second half of 2004. The project would be implemented consistent with Alcoa's sustainability principles. Alcoa's share of the Machadinho and Barra Grande hydropower hy·dro·pow·er n. Hydroelectric power. facilities will supply the full energy needs of its Pocos de Caldas smelter. The company continues to pursue competitive and environmentally sound energy projects in Brazil to increase its energy self-sufficiency and make further upstream expansion possible. Alcoa is the world's leading producer and manager of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina facilities, and is active in all major aspects of the industry. Alcoa serves the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation and industrial markets, bringing design, engineering, production and other capabilities of Alcoa's businesses to customers. In addition to aluminum products and components, Alcoa also markets consumer brands including Reynolds Wrap(R) foils and plastic wraps, Alcoa(R) wheels, and Baco(R) household wraps. Among its other businesses are vinyl siding Wikipedia is not the place for advertisement or self-advertising. Vinyl siding, first introduced to the exterior cladding market in the late 1950s, is an alternative to aluminum siding, fiber cement siding, and timber siding. , closures, fastening systems, precision castings, and electrical distribution systems for cars and trucks. The company has 120,000 employees in 41 countries and has been a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average Dow Jones Industrial Average The best known U.S. index of stocks. A price-weighted average of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks, primarily industrials including stocks that trade on the New York Stock Exchange. for 45 years and the Dow Jones Dow Jones the best known of several U.S. indexes of movements in price on Wall Street. [Am. Hist.: Payton, 202] See : Finance Sustainability Indexes since 2001. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com |
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