Tiwai Point misses production milestone

The Tiwai Point aluminium smelter has failed to hit a major production milestone of 9 million tonnes of saleable metal because of low hydro-lake levels. Earlier this year, smelter management expected to achieve the target this month but a temporary 5 per cent production cut in May, followed by another 5 per cent soon after, slashed monthly production by about 2900 tonnes. Overall, low hydro-lake levels during winter and high wholesale electricity prices contributed to the reduction. New Zealand Aluminium Smelters general manager Paul Hemburrow said full production output had not yet been fully restored. "It's going to be a little while (longer). "It takes a while to go through the process. These things aren't easy," Mr Hemburrow said. Based on estimate calculations, he said he hoped the smelter would hit the 9-million mark by mid-November if all went according to plan. "It all depends on the restart. "It's a big hit. We've got a lot of work to do to get capacity back on," he said. Overall, it could possibly be the longest reduction in output the smelter had had, Mr Hemburrow said. Tiwai also cut back 10 per cent of its power use in autumn 2003 and winter 2001. The plant produces about 318,000 tonnes of aluminium a year and is New Zealand's single-biggest electricity user. ---Southland Times