Century to halt production at Hawesville aluminum smelter on high energy costs

Century Aluminum will temporarily halt operations at its Hawesville, Kentucky, aluminum smelter for up to a year due to high global energy prices, the company said in a statement June 22.

The smelter is expected to begin the idling process June 27. The company expects operations to remain offline for a period of nine to 12 months "until energy prices return to more normalized levels."

Century continues to explore all available options to avoid the temporary curtailment, it said.

"This unprecedented rise in global energy prices arising from the Russian war in Ukraine has dramatically increased the price of energy in the US and around the globe," Century CEO Jesse Gary said in a statement, adding that the power cost required to run the Hawesville facility had more than tripled the historical average in a short period of time. "We are confident that energy prices will moderate in the next year and believe strongly in the future prospects of the Hawesville smelter given its recent performance and the continued important role it plays in US national security."

The Hawesville smelter, Century's largest in the US, has a total rated capacity of 250,000 mt/year and is the largest producer of high purity aluminum in North America, according to the company's website.

The company does not have any current plans to idle any of its other facilities, it said.

The Platts spot US aluminum transaction premium fell to 31.95 cents/lb plus London Metal Exchange cash delivered Midwest June 21, down from 32.20 cents previously, as bearish macroeconomic factors and waning demand caused offer levels to drop, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

The market sentiment was weaker overall but some still contended that metal was tight globally and replacement costs into the US were above current levels.