Australian refinery expansion to create 1700 jobs

Alcan said yesterday it would spend US$1.3 billion ($1.99 billion) to expand and improve its Gove alumina refinery in Australia. The world's largest aluminium maker by revenue said the expansion would lift the refinery's capacity to about 3.8 million tonnes of low-cost alumina per year from 2.1 million tonnes, an increase of nearly 30 per cent in the company's overall alumina capacity. Montreal-based Alcan said it hoped to start the expansion before the end of 2004 and expected it to be fully operational by 2007. The refinery expansion will create about 1700 jobs, and another 120 once it opens. Shares of Alcan were off 35 Canadian cents, or 0.6 per cent, at C$57.15 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.