Mojave Aluminum shelves remelt and casting house project in Lenwood

Mojave Aluminum President Eric Shen has officially notified the city that his company will not proceed with building a $120 million, 500,000-square-foot aluminium remelt and casting house plant in Lenwood.

In a letter addressed to Mayor Julie Hackbarth-McIntyre and City Council Members dated received on March 17, Shen blamed the project's demise on the Dupre Analytics report that was released in August. The report accused China Zhongwang Holdings Limited of fraudulent market practices. Shen was named as a "key player" for China Zhongwang's Chairman Liu Zhongtian in the report.

"I have tried earnestly to convince, appease and appeal with Mojave Aluminum's lender to reconsider its decision to cease all funding activities," Shen said in the letter. "Mojave Aluminum's lender has issued its final decision to terminate any and all financial support and financing for this project."

The plant was a scaled-down version of one the City Council approved in March 2014. That $1.5 billion, 3 million-square-foot aluminium manufacturing complex also was proposed for the Lenwood area on property that was once Sun & Sky golf Course. It was projected to employ 2,000 workers until Shen pulled the plug on it, blaming the high cost of electricity in California for its downfall.

Financing never appeared to be an issue for Mojave Aluminum. The proposed aluminium plant is said to have had the financial backing of Liu Zhongtian, one of the richest men in China.

However, after China Zhongwang came under scrutiny late last August things started changing for the downstream aluminium company. Two U.S. trade associations - the Aluminum Association in Virginia and the Aluminum Extruders Council in Illinois - called on U.S. and Chinese officials to investigate the Dupre Analytics report that accused China Zhongwang of fraudulent market practices.