Rio Tinto Alcan to close Lynemouth UK smelter

Rio Tinto Alcan intends to close the Lynemouth aluminium smelter in UK, subject to the completion of a 90-day consultation process with employee and union representatives.

The company is also in exclusive discussions regarding the potential sale of the power station at the site.

The smelter in Northumberland, England opened in 1972. It employs 515 people and an additional 111 are employed at the power station. All affected employees will receive support, including re-training and job-search assistance, to mitigate the impact of any closure.

Jacynthe Côté, chief executive of Rio Tinto Alcan, said: "This decision follows a strategic review which explored every option for continuing to operate the smelter and power station.

"However, it is clear the smelter is no longer a sustainable business because its energy costs are increasing significantly, due largely to emerging legislation. We are hopeful that the power station can remain in operation under new ownership."

The smelter has a capacity of 176kt/y following closure of 57kt capacity in 2009. It produced slab and T-bar.

Only one smelter now remains in UK, the Lochaber smelter in Fort William, Scotland. This is also owned by Rio Tinto Alcan and has a capacity of 43kt/y producing slab and T-bar.

Rio Tinto has been investing in new power plant for this smelter since 2008 with the aim of increasing output to 50kt/y. To date, three of the five generators have been replaced. The plant contributes £8M/y to the Scottish Highlands economy and employs 170 people.

In September 2009, the smelter on the island of Anglesey in North Wales which was jointly owned by Rio Tinto Alcan (51%) and Kaiser ceased smelting activities following the ending of the power contract with the Wylfa nuclear power station which is to be decommissioned.

The closure of the 145kt/y smelter resulted in the loss of 390 jobs. 80 have been retained in a remelt facility in the existing casthouse.