2002/9/30 丸紅　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

カナダAlouette（アロエッテ）アルミニウム製錬J/V（ジョイントベンチャー）増設計画に参画する件

　丸紅は、事業会社Marubeni Metals & Minerals (Canada) Inc.（マルベニ・メタルズ・アンド・ミネラルズ・カナダ・インク、カナダ・モントリオール市、三宅健次郎社長）を通じてAlouette（アロエッテ）アルミニウム製錬J/V（カナダ・セティール市、Joe Lombard（ジョー・ロンバード）社長）に6.67％参画しておりますが、発足当時より計画していた増設（Phase II）を行うこととなりました。本増設計画に、既存出資比率と同様参加すること（丸紅分資金支出約97.5百万カナダドル、約75億円)とし、2002年9月27日に参加者間で正式意志決定がなされました。

　Alouetteは、日本、欧州、カナダの企業6社で1989年にカナダ・ケベック州に設立されました。1992年6月に生産を開始し、現在年24万トン生産しているプロジェクトで、増設後は年55万トンの米州最大のアルミニウム製錬工場となります。

　現在の参加比率は、

となっており、増設計画には全参加者同比率で参加します。

　当社は従来より、当Alouetteをはじめ、豪州、インドネシア、ブラジル、ベネズエラ等のアルミニウム製錬会社へ投資することで、年間約16万トンのアルミニウム地金の引取権を確保し、開発投資におけるアルミ引き取りにおいて日本企業最大級であります。これにAlouette Phase IIが加わることにより、開発投資によるアルミニウム引取量は年間18万トンを超えます。

　今後ともアルミニウム製錬事業への投資を当社のコアビジネスとして、優良案件を選別し積極的に参画していく所存であります。

Alouette Phase II 概要

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The world's leading aluminum producers had their eye on Sept-Iles as early as the 1970s. But the idea of setting up shop there really took hold in 1985, when the new port was built at Pointe-Noire.

At the time, energy costs were becoming a key issue for producers in Europe, Japan and the United States seeking to retain their long-term competitiveness on international markets. They began to focus on Australia, Brazil, Canada, countries in the Persian Gulf area, and Venezuela. To offset the high cost of producing aluminum, they formed groups and even consortiums.

At the instigation of La Societe generale de financement du Quebec (SGF), an international consortium was created in 1987 to bring a new aluminum smelter to the province of Quebec. With its deep water port, skilled workforce, and proximity to high power electrical grids, Sept-Iles was the perfect location!

Aluminerie Alouette was founded in September 1989 by an international consortium originally made up of Austria Metall of Austria, Hooghovens of the Netherlands, Kobe and Marubeni of Japan, Quebec’s Societe generale de financement, and VAW of Germany. Bechtel-Lavalin wrapped up the first stage of construction in 1992. In less than three years, the ultramodern Aluminerie Alouette facility was complete and comfortably installed on the Bay of Sept-Iles. The company produced its first ton of "gray gold" in June of the same year.

2002/9/17 Alcan Inc.

Alcan Now Owns 40 Percent of Alouette - Following completion of additional 20 percent acquisition

　Alcan Inc. announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Corus Group plc's 20 percent interest in the Aluminerie Alouette consortium bringing the Company's participation to 40 percent. Alouette is a first-class aluminum smelter located in Sept-Iles, Quebec with an annual capacity of 243,000-tonnes with significant low-cost expansion potential.
　Alcan is a multinational, market-driven company and a global leader in aluminum and specialty packaging with 2001 revenues of US$12.6 billion. With world-class operations in primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum as well as flexible and specialty packaging, Alcan is well positioned to meet and exceed its customers' needs for innovative solutions and service. Alcan employs 48,000 people and has operating facilities in 38 countries.

2002/11/17　http://www.electricityforum.com/news/feb02/qc_al.htm　

Quebec awards power for Alouette smelter expansion

MONTREAL - Quebec said on Thursday that it had awarded a 500 megawatt block of specially priced electricity to the 243,000 tonne Alouette aluminum smelter consortium to assist a C$1.4 billion ($800 million) project to more than double its production capacity.

Quebec Premier Bernard Landry made the announcement in Quebec City, adding that the expansion of the Alouette smelter at Sept-Iles -- a project that includes Montreal's Alcan Inc. -- is expected to be ready for 2005 and would create up top 500 jobs in primary aluminum production and transformation in the Canadian province.

Alexis Segal, spokesman for Alouette, told Reuters that the international consortium plans to ``more than double'' the smelter's production capacity. Segal said more details would be available next week.

In the decision, Quebec favored the expansion plan put forward by Alouette over a rival proposal by Alcoa Inc. (AA.N), the world's No. 1 aluminum maker, for its Baie Comeau smelter and other facilities in the province.

``The project between Alouette and Alcan was chosen by the Finance Ministry and the government,'' Landry told reporters at a press conference.

He added that the Alouette project would create more permanent jobs, would cost less for taxpayers and would be put into production more rapidly than the Alcoa proposal. He said the project would create an estimated 9,000 construction jobs.

Earlier this month, Alcan, the world's second-largest aluminum maker, agreed to acquire a 20 percent stake in the Alouette consortium from a Quebec government agency and support the expansion project.

Corus Group Plc and Austria Metall AG also each have a 20 percent share of Alouette, which began operating in 1992. Kobe Steel Ltd. has a 13.33 percent stake, while Marubeni Corp. holds 6.67 percent.

Last fall, the Quebec government asked Hydro-Quebec to provide 500 megawatts of power at its special low ``L'' rate for big industrial users to the aluminum maker submitting the best proposal on how it would use the additional power to increase production and create jobs.

The government stipulated that a plan for secondary transformation of primary aluminum be included in each plan.

``The Alcan-Alouette proposal is clearly more advantageous on the number of jobs created and particularly with regards to transformation,'' Quebec Finance Minister Pauline Marois said.

Landry insisted that there were no winners or losers in the decision to offer the 500 megawatt power block to the Alouette consortium. Alcoa is still eligible for 100 megawatts of power at the ``L'' rate for any proposed expansion of its smelter at Baie Comeau, he said.

``I will speak to them today because I do not want there to be any disappointment,'' Landry said.

Alcan has primary aluminum metal production capacity of 2.25 million tonnes a year, of which 1.2 million tonnes is located in Quebec, where abundant electricity is offered at highly competitive rates by Quebec government-owned Hydro-Quebec. Aluminum smelting requires massive supplies of power.