Henan Shenhuo to close 60,000 tonnes of aluminium capacity

Henan Shenhuo Coal & Power Co said on Tuesday it was offloading 60,000 tonnes per year of idle aluminium smelting capacity and related equipment as part of asset optimisation measures. In a statement to the Shenzhen stock exchange, the company said its board of directors had unanimously approved the transfer of the capacity to the open market. This means any smelter in China can apply to add the same amount of capacity, provided that complies with capacity quotas in the province or region where it operates.
The 60,000 tpa at the Yongcheng smelting plant was already shut down due to high electricity and alumina costs, which were causing serious losses, Henan Shenhuo noted. The company still retains other smelting capacity, analysts say. Earlier this month, the Henan provincial government said a total of 207,000 tonnes of annual aluminium capacity was being transferred from five smelters in the province, although those did not include Henan Shenhuo Coal & Power. That capacity has been awarded to Inner Mongolia Chuangyuan Metal Co, according to media reports.