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Article: NEWS: UK aluminium industry in crisis.
- Article from:
- Process Engineering
- Article date:
- September 14, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Centaur Communications Limited. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Aluminium production in the UK is in crisis with a distinct possibility that manufacture will stop completely in the not-too-distant future.
One leading producer, Anglesey Aluminium Metal (AAM), based in Holyhead, is shutting its plant at the end of September with the loss of some 390 jobs. It blames the closure on failure to secure a new contract for an estimated 255MW of cheap electricity with the nearby Wylfa power station.
The major UK plant is the Alcan operation in Lynemouth, Northumberland, which employs 630 people and was recently visited by Gordon Brown. Its future is being put in doubt as its adjoining 420MW coal-fired power station fails ...