The smelter and an adjacent rolling mill are located in Geelong, Victoria. The second mill and a recycling facility are located in Yennora, New South Wales.
Alcoa will close the smelter in August and the rolling mills by the end of 2014.
The Point Henry smelter was placed under strategic review in February 2012 due to challenging market conditions. A comprehensive review found that the 50-year-old smelter has no prospect of becoming financially viable.
The two rolling mills serve the domestic and Asian can sheet markets which have been impacted by excess capacity. Alcoa of Australia operates the smelter where approximately 500 employees work. Alcoa Inc. operates the rolling mills which employ about 480 people.
The Anglesea coal mine and power station that currently supplies approximately 40% of the power needs for the Point Henry smelter has the potential to operate as a stand-alone facility after the smelter closes. Alcoa of Australia will actively seek a buyer for the facility.
The Portland aluminium smelter in Victoria will continue normal operations, as will Alcoa of Australia’s bauxite mining and alumina refining operations in Western Australia.
The closures will reduce Alcoa’s global smelting capacity by 190,000 metric tons and reduce Alcoa’s can sheet capacity by 200,000 metric tons. Including the closure of the Point Henry smelter, Alcoa has announced closures or curtailments representing 551,000 metric tons of smelting capacity.