Alcoa complete its US$47 capital project to improve the infrastructure of Deschambault aluminium Smelter

Alcoa Corporation global leader in bauxite, alumina and aluminium products announced the completion of its most waited project in Quebec, Canada, which is expected to enhance the stability, efficiency and output of the Deschambault aluminium smelter.

The smelter has completed the installation of new electrical infrastructure, which was part of a $47 million capital investment to assist the plant enhance its operations. A third electrical transformer was installed as a part of the project to supply greater amperage to the smelting pots and boost metal output. In addition, the enhanced environmental equipment of the plant will allow it to retain environmental compliance when it expands aluminium output in the coming years.

The Canadian government pledged a CA$10 million investment to the Deschambault project in 2019 through its Strategic Innovation Fund.

“Through continuous improvement, we have been able to economically increase the capabilities of many of our assets, and this capital project at Deschambault should help us meet the strong demand we’re seeing for sustainably produced aluminium. We appreciate the dedication of our employees and the strong support from our stakeholders, including the investment from the Government of Canada,” said John Slaven, Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Alcoa.

The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, the industry's most thorough, third-party approach for verifying responsible production, has approved Alcoa's three smelters in Canada (Deschambault, Baie Comeau, and Bécancour).

Alcoa Corporation's three Canadian smelters, all powered by sustainable hydroelectricity, have an aggregated nameplate capacity of 946,000 metric tonnes per year (mtpy). All three plants will achieve yearly output records in 2021. Deschambault has a nameplate capacity of 287,000 mtpy and is home to Alcoa's Aluminum Center of Excellence, which develops and standardises production best practices for a global implementation across the company's system.