RTThu, 18 Aug 2022 10:55 UTC
© Getty Images / Monty Rakusen
A Slovak smelter will halt production by the start of October due to soaring electricity prices
The Slovalco aluminum smelter in Slovakia announced on Wednesday
it will shut down primary production by the end of September."The decision to terminate primary aluminum production at Slovalco comes in response to adverse framework conditions and high electricity prices, which show no signs of improvement in the short term," the
plant's majority owner, Norsk Hydro, said in a statement.
It explained that the Slovalco casthouse in central Slovakia is continuing its recycling operation, serving customers in the region with 75,000 tons of recycled aluminum annually.
The plant's CEO told media that the Slovalco plant was a key supplier for Slovak and other European companies. After stopping production, Europe will be forced to import aluminum from countries including Russia and China, he added.
Slovalco's shutdown follows a similar decision this week to cease production at a zinc smelter in the Netherlands.
Comment: Within one week, one producer of aluminium in Slovakia and a producer of zinc in the Netherlands have closed down. This surely would not be a surprise to those who run the EU as it was obvious that cutting off cheap energy from Russia would have massive consequences.
Do they really want the EU to de-industrialise or is that a secondary issue to another more important agenda?
Some more information on the aluminium producer reveals that part of the reason for the closure is that the plant has not implemented certain of the EU's CO2 standards.
From Foundry planet:
"Slovakia has not implemented competitive EU CO2 compensation framework. This has prevented Slovalco from entering long term power contracts and the plant's current contract expires at the end of 2022. Due to the current Slovak framework conditions and the European power prices, Slovalco would incur substantial financial losses if it continued its operation beyond 2022," says Sæter.
The decision to close primary production will affect 300 of Slovalco's full time employees, in addition to a reduced need for services from contractors and suppliers in the region. A process has started to assist affected employees.
Slovalco is a fully consolidated aluminium smelter in Hydro, owned 55.3 percent by Hydro and 44.7 percent by Penta Investments Group. Slovalco has an annual production capacity of 175,000 tonnes of primary aluminium and a casthouse capacity of approximately 250,000 tonnes.
And thus the production moves to China and elsewhere, where energy is cheaper and less in the grips of Orwellian climate dictates.
This is to remove workers from their jobs and make them useless eaters, ready for extermination.