US primary aluminum producer Century Aluminum restored 75pc output capacity at its Mt Holly plant in Goose Creek, South Carolina on Thursday.
Last year, the plant was on the brink of shutting down due to the increased cost of power from local authority Santee Cooper. Production had fallen below half the plant’s capacity due to curtailments. Today, Michael Bless, chief executive officer at Century, along with Governor Henry McMaster, held a ceremonial restart of the second production line at the plant.
Going by estimates, the plant will now be able to produce around 172,500mt (75pc capacity) of primary aluminum products per year like billets, ingots, t-bars, and slabs. Bless noted that government assistance played a big role towards getting a suitable price from Santee Cooper.