Alcoa to close Intalco smelter

Alcoa "announced the closure of its Intalco aluminum smelter in Washington State, which has been fully idle since 2020. The closure announcement begins a process to prepare the site for new economic development opportunities. Pursuant to an agreement with AltaGas (TSX: ALA), AltaGas has acquired the rights to develop and own approximately 1,600 acres at the Intalco site, which includes transportation and utility infrastructure. Permanently closing Intalco’s 279,000 metric tons of annual capacity will bring Alcoa Corporation’s global consolidated capacity to 2.69 million metric tons, including a combined 399,000 metric tons at two other smelters in the United States. Alcoa will record restructuring and related charges in the first quarter 2023 of approximately $120 million, or $0.67 per share, related to the permanent closure. Cash outlays related to the permanent closure of the site are expected to be approximately $85 million over the next three years, with approximately $25 million to be spent in 2023. The Intalco smelter was fully curtailed in the third quarter of 2020, amid declining market conditions and high input costs. The smelter, which began operation in 1966, lacks access to competitively priced power and would have required significant capital expenditures to restart."