Grade issue halts ingot production at Alcoa smelter

Alcoa Inc has temporarily stopped producing certain ingots at its Becancour smelter in Quebec because of a quality problem, the aluminum producer said on Wednesday.

A spokesman said the company suspended production of its P1020 aluminum billet in late October as a result of high iron content and was talking with customers to mitigate the impact.

"We are making good progress and hope to completely resolve the problem soon," the spokesman said.

Alcoa owns 74.95 percent of the smelter by the St Lawrence river in Quebec, with Rio Tinto Alcan owning the rest.

Becancour produces 400,000 tonnes per year of aluminum billet, foundry alloy, and P1020 and sheet ingot.