Century Aluminum Acquires Sebree Smelter

Century Aluminum Co., Chicago, has announced the completion of a transaction with Rio Tinto Alcan, Inc. to acquire substantially all of the assets of the Sebree aluminum smelter in Henderson County, Ky. The smelter has an annual production capacity of 205,000 metric tons of primary aluminum.

“We are really happy to welcome the men and women of Sebree to Century,” says Michael Bless, president and CEO of Century Aluminum. “With the changes occurring in U.S. energy markets, we believe Sebree, along with our existing smelter at Hawesville (Kentucky), will be competitive in the global market. We see a great opportunity for these facilities, which are located about 60 miles apart, to work together and share best practices in pursuit of safety and operational excellence.”

Bless continues, “Access to market-based power is a critical enabler for sustained operations at Hawesville and Sebree. We believe the framework reached with the power provider for market-priced energy for Hawesville will serve as a model for Sebree.”