Alcoa Corp. recently announced it plans to restart aluminum capacity at its Alumar smelter in São Luís, Brazil, at a cost of approximately $75 million. Capacity will be 268,000 metric tons per year (mtpy).
“Our restart decision is based on an analysis that shows the smelter can be competitive throughout all cycles, leveraging the co-located refinery, a strong workforce, and competitive, renewable power arrangements,” John Slaven, Alcoa executive vice president and chief operating officer, said. “With this planned restart, we’ll be able to build upon the strong capabilities at this site and capture benefits for our investors, customers, employees and the stakeholders in the state of Maranhão in Brazil.”
Capacity was stopped in 2015 at the smelter jointly owned by Alcoa Alumínio, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcoa Corp., and South32. Alcoa owns 60 percent of the smelting and casting capacity.
The facility has three potlines with a total operating capacity of 447,000 metric tons.
The first molten metal is expected during the second quarter of 2022 while full capacity is expected during the fourth quarter. Alcoa plans to hire more than 750 employees and an additional 850 employees at the site’s co-located alumina refinery.
The Alumar smelter will be powered with 100 percent renewable energy by 2024.