The Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter, owned by New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Limited (NZAS), is now focused on securing the future beyond its closing date in 2024. On Tuesday, May 10, NZAS chief executive Chris Blenkiron said in a community forum that he is seeking a pathway for the smelter to enable it to continue its operations beyond 2024, for which he intends to meet energy generators to achieve power supply for the smelter before the end of 2022.
According to him, it is important to get clarity about the future to avoid ambiguity among people. He said, “My biggest impact on morale is to get a future beyond 2024 and to get clarity. A lot of people get impacted by the ambiguity, it impacts Southland in general saying ‘are we open or are we closed’... for me that’s the focus, to get rid of the ambiguity in the future, one way or another.”
In the same forum, Mr Blenkiron also acknowledged that it was not in active discussions with Meridian Energy over renewing the electricity contract. Initially, the smelter was planned to close in August 2021, but it was only after the electricity agreement with Meridian Energy, it extended its closure till December 31, 2024.
The major questions faced at the forum were about the future of the smelter and update on remediation of the site. GHD Limited was engaged to complete a Detailed Site Investigation as part of studies to ensure the remediation of the site to the required level upon its closure. The task is now complete, with the closure of the smelter’s landfill earlier this week.
“We have locked the gates to that landfill. So we can stand here in front of you tonight and say we will not deposit any further waste on site,” said Rio Tinto aluminium closure readiness general manager Nicole Atherton.
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