Alcoa’s Portland aluminium smelter shows growth after Australian financial support

<p>Alcoa&rsquo;s aluminium smelter in Victoria has shown &ldquo;progress&rdquo; after Australia government offered financial assistance to the 30-year-old aluminium smelter which was damaged by a state-wide power outrage in December 2016. The smelter has been running at one-third of its 300,000-tonnes-per-year capacity since then. <br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/Alcoa_Hee.jpg" alt="News" width="517" height="226" /><br />Australia's industry minister, Greg Hunt, and Victoria state treasurer Tim Pallas announced in a joint statement, "Significant progress has been made over the weekend, with great demonstrations of good faith from all parties working to find a solution for the future of the Portland smelter."<br /><br />Alcoa and AGL Energy, which provide power to Alcoa&rsquo;s aluminium smelter, confirmed on Monday, in an up-to-date discussion that the smelter has made progress. However, they did not divulge any further details.<br /><br />{googleAdsense}<br /><br />The Australian government has been providing financial support to aid aluminium smelter with enough power. Portland aluminium smelter offers employment to 700 workers.<br /><br />Ben Davis, secretary of the Australian Workers Union in Victoria, said that the discussion indicates that the aluminium smelter is likely to remain open.</p>