PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Aluminium major Alcoa is still working to stabilise its Portland smelter, in Victoria, following a power outage last week.
Alcoa said in a statement on Monday that work had begun to assess the operational impact of the outage; however, given the significance of the event, the company was faced with "substantial challenges and analysis".
The power outage forced Alcoa to halt production at one of two potlines at the Portland smelter, with the company saying on Monday that only a portion of the other potline was currently operational.
“Our efforts to ensure a safe work environment continue and we are extremely grateful to our workforce for the hours they have dedicated at the plant during this time,” the company said.
The Portland smelter, which is a joint venture between Alcoa, CITIC and Marubeni Aluminium Australia, produces around 20% of Australia’s aluminium production.