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| December 11, 2009
Alumar Alumina Refinery Expansion Dedicated
Inauguration Attended By Brazilian
President Lula da Silva; Investment More than Doubles Capacity;
Expansion in 1st
Quintile of Low-Cost Production
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alcoa (NYSE:AA) has inaugurated the expansion of the Alumar alumina
refinery in northern Brazil, where capacity more than doubled from 1.5
million metric tons per year (mtpy) to 3.6 million mtpy. Alcoa’s share
of the expansion will be 1.1 million mtpy. The expansion capacity at the
refinery will be in the first quintile of low cost alumina production
globally.
Alumar, located in Maranhão state outside São Luis, Brazil, is jointly
owned by Alcoa Aluminio and Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals/AWAC (54
percent), BHP Billiton (36 percent) and Rio Tinto Alcan (10 percent).
Alcoa manages the facility.
The AWAC share of the Alumar refinery expansion will be supplied by the
recently completed AWAC Juruti bauxite mine. Alcoa’s investment in the
Alumar expansion, which totaled approximately $1.0 billion, will place
Alcoa’s global refining system in the lowest cost quartile on the global
cost curve. Production at the refinery will be ramped up to reach full
capacity by the end of the first quarter of 2010.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva participated in Thursday’s
inauguration, along with Maranhão State Governor Roseana Sarney and
other federal and state authorities. At the ceremony, President Lula
said, “Above all the expansion of this refinery symbolizes a new moment
being experienced by Brazil's North/Northeast, in its march toward
economic emancipation. This region's economy has grown a lot in the last
few years. That's why Alcoa, the world's main manager of alumina, and
primary and fabricated aluminum, is transforming this Alumar complex
here in Maranhão into one of the largest in the world, simultaneously
with the implementation of a bauxite mine in Juruti."
Franklin L. Feder, president of Alcoa Latin America and Caribbean, said,
“We accomplished this expansion at competitive cost, employing local
workers and suppliers and incorporating state-of-the-art technology,
which places the Alumar alumina refinery as one of the lowest cost
refineries in the world. And our ramp-up activities are going extremely
well so this low-cost production will be utilized quickly.”
At the peak of the expansion construction, Alumar hired up to 13,000
workers, approximately 70% of them Maranhão natives, and 30% from the
city of São Luis. When the milestone of 20 million work hours completed
with no lost day incidents was reached, the project became a global
labor safety benchmark.
Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals is a joint venture between Alcoa and
Alumina Limited with Alcoa holding 60 percent.
About Alcoa
Alcoa is the world leader in the production and management of primary
aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina combined, through its active
and growing participation 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 including
flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, Alcoa also
markets Alcoa® wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment
castings, and building systems. The Company has been named one of the
top most sustainable corporations in the world at the World Economic
Forum in Davos, Switzerland and has been a member of the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index for eight consecutive years. Alcoa employs
approximately 63,000 people in 31 countries across the world. More
information can be found at www.alcoa.com
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