LONDON, March 9 (Reuters) - Germany's Speira said on
Thursday it will shut the aluminium smelting operations at its
Rheinwerk plant due to high energy prices, after it was forced
to halve production last year.
Although Western Europe's energy crisis, which began in 2021
and worsened after last year's Russian invasion of Ukraine, has
passed its peak, it is still affecting power-intensive aluminium
production. Output in Western Europe fell by 12.5% in 2022.
"Speira decided to fully ramp down the smelting operations
in Rheinwerk," the company said in a statement, adding that it
will invest 30 million euros ($32 million) to boost recycling
capacity at the Rheinwerk plant.
Speira, which cut aluminium production at the plant by 50%
in October due to high power prices, said its decision to close
the remaining 70,000 tonnes of liquid aluminium production at
Rheinwerk in the second half of 2023 will transform it into an
aluminium rolling and recycling company.
The decision will impact about 300 workers, but Speira said
customers will not be affected as it aims to fulfil contracts by
replacing the lost production with external metal supplies.
Production costs are still high for many European smelters,
while aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange have
fallen by 37% since reaching their peak a year ago.
Prices slumped after market concerns about potential
sanctions on Russian metal did not materialise and the lifting
of strict COVID-19 restrictions in China have yet to revitalise
consumption there.
($1 = 0.9471 euros)
(Reporting by Polina Devitt; Editing by Alexander Smith)
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