UC RUSAL denies cannibalising ALSCON

UC RUSAL, operators of the ALSCON smelter plant at Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, weekend, denied accusations that it had cannibalised the aluminium smelter plant. The company said in a statement by Morenko Elena, of the International Media Relations office in Moscow, that it had in fact taken efforts to sell obsolete assets to minimise losses, adding that this was one of the many factors that led to the suspension of primary aluminium production at the smelter in March 2013. He said: “A key precondition for ALSCON’s successful operation is an uninterrupted supply of natural gas. However, the lack of a reliable gas supply has been a major obstacle to the development of ALSCON. Since it was re-commissioned in 2008, ALSCON has suffered six lengthy disruptions to its gas supply, resulting in a complete cessation of aluminium production and losses of about US$60 million, as well as long reconstruction periods. This has meant that during its entire history, the smelter has operated at less than 20 per cent of its production capacity.”