PLANT SHUTDOWNS – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Don’t politicise Kwinana closure: Alcoa

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Original article by Tom Rabe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 17-Jan-24

Alcoa’s executive vice president Matt Reed has responded to criticism of the US-based company’s recent decision to close its Kwinana alumina refinery in Western Australia. Reed has cautioned against ‘politicising’ the decision, which will result in the loss of at least 750 jobs; he contends that federal and state government policies were not to blame for the plant’s closure, arguing that the decision was made due to "commercial realities". The cost of producing alumina at the 60-year-old Kwinana plant was about $410 per tonne in 2023, compared with around $250 per tonne at Alcoa’s two other refineries in WA.

CORPORATES
ALCOA INCORPORATED

Refinery closure to wipe out 1000 jobs

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 2 : 10-Jan-24

US-based Alcoa has confirmed that its Kwinana alumina refinery in Western Australia will be closed. Its workforce will be reduced to about 50 by the September 2025 quarter, compared with about 800 employees and 300 contractors at present. WA’s state development minister David Honey says the plant’s closure is unnecessary; he contends that the state government’s failure to issue Alcoa with new bauxite mining approvals and the federal government’s emissions reduction target are to blame. However, federal Resources Minister Madeleine King attributes the closure to factors beyond the government’s control, such as the plant’s age and declining bauxite grades at Alcoa’s mine.

CORPORATES
ALCOA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES

Alcoa set to announce Kwinana refinery closure

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Original article by Cecilia Jamasmie
Mining.com – Page: Online : 9-Jan-24

Aluminum producer Alcoa is set to announce plams for its Kwinana alumina refinery in Western Australia, with closure of the facility reported as the most likely option. Kwinana has been operating for around 60 years, and has the capacity to produce around 2.2 million tonnes a year. Its closure would result in the loss of almost 1,200 jobs, although some workers could be deployed to its two other refineries in the region and to Alcoa’s two mines in the south-west of WA.

CORPORATES
ALCOA INCORPORATED

BHP fire halts work as nickel stages a revival

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 23 : 26-Sep-18

BHP Billiton is still assessing the damage to its nickel smelter in Kalgoorlie after a fire in the plant’s furnace room on 23 September. A spokeswoman has indicated that it is uncertain as to when production will resume. The smelter is part of BHP’s Nickel West business, which the resources group had unsuccessfully tried to sell in recent years. Rising demand for nickel has boosted the fortunes of Nickel West, and BHP may elevate it to a core asset. Macquarie Group is upbeat about the outlook for nickel, forecasting that it will average $US13,800 per tonne in 2018 and $US20,000/tonne in 2019.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, NICKEL WEST, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DIGGERS AND DEALERS FORUM, LONDON METAL EXCHANGE LIMITED, WMC RESOURCES LIMITED, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32

Chevron forced to shut down Gorgon

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 7-Apr-16

Mechanical problems at the Gorgon LNG plant in Western Australia have prompted Chevron to suspend production for up to two months. The energy group said the repair work is "routine", and it has stressed that this will not affect the schedule for the project’s first processing line to achieve full production. The $A55bn Gorgon project – which was originally slated to cost $A37bn – exported its first LNG in late March 2016.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION, CHUBU ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY INCORPORATED, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, OSAKA GAS COMPANY, TOKYO GAS COMPANY LIMITED