Century Aluminum permanently closes West Virginia smelter

Chicago-based primary aluminum producer Century Aluminum Co.  has announced that it intends to permanently close its Ravenswood, West Virginia, aluminum smelter, effective immediately.

The Ravenswood smelter has been idled since February 2009. The company says the decision to permanently close the plant is based on the inability to secure a competitive power contract for the smelter, compounded by challenging aluminum market conditions largely driven by increased exports of aluminum from China. As a result, the economics of restarting and operating the facility are unfavorable, the company states in a July 2015 news release.

“We have worked diligently with local, state and federal officials, along with the power company, to reopen the smelter but we have been unable to secure a long-term, competitive power contract,” says Michael Bless, Century CEO. “We are convinced that all of these parties did everything within their ability to support our efforts to restart the Ravenswood smelter, and we are grateful for their commitment. We deeply regret the impact of this action on our employees and on the local community."

Ravenswood, built in 1957, has four potlines with a full operating capacity of 170,000 metric tons per year. The company owns primary aluminum capacity in the U.S. and Iceland.