By NOEL MURPHY
EIGHTY-five jobs will be lost when Alcoa of Australia permanently closes its Anglesea coal mine and power station in August.
The Anglesea power station previously supplied approximately 40 per cent of the power needs for the Point Henry smelter in Geelong, Victoria.
Alcoa said in February last year that it would conduct a sales process for the site, which has been operating as an independent supplier to the National Electricity Market since the smelter closed in August 2014.
The process did not result in a sale.
State Industry Minister Lily D’Ambrosia said the closure announcement, after 46 years operation, was “a sad day” for Alcoa workers.
“Alcoa has indicated some of the 85 employees will be offered redeployment with the remainder to be offered
redundancies,” she said.
“The Victorian Government will ensure all assistance is provided during this difficult time.
“The Government will commence discussions with Alcoa regarding the rehabilitation of the site.
Alcoa Australia refining and managing director Alan Cransberg said the company’s “key concern” now was for its 85 employees “who have done a great job in continuing to run the operation during this period of uncertainty”.
“Alcoa has been a proud member of the Anglesea community for more than 46 years, and our focus is in supporting our employees and their families, our contractors, suppliers and community partners through this transition,” he said.
After closing the Point Henry operations in 2014, Alcoa pumped $5million into the Geelong Region Innovation and Investment Fund to support job creation projects that strengthen and diversify the regional economy and employment base.
“We look forward to the fund continuing to create new employment opportunities in the region, and as we did with the Geelong community, we will be exploring how best to assist our Anglesea community partners,” Mr Cransberg said.
As a result of the closure, Alcoa expects to record 2015 restructuring-related charges of $30 million to $35 million, after-tax and non-controlling interest, or $0.02 to $0.03 per share, of which approximately 80 percent would be recorded in the second quarter.
Alcoa’s free cash flow target for 2015 of $500 million remains unchanged.
Environmental group Surf Coast Air Action welcomed Alcoa’s announcement claiming “coal-impacted communities can achieve big things when they work together”.
“While we are delighted that the redundant facility will finally close we are also very mindful about the remaining workers and call upon Alcoa to make sure that those who don’t wish to take a redundancy package are deployed onto the massive rehabilitation task,” spokesman Andrew Laird said,
SCAA’s Dr Jacinta Morahan said the health impacts of coal mining and combustion were “well documented” so Alcoa’s announcement was “fantastic news for public health on the Surf Coast”.
“Permanent closure is, however, the first step and SCAA will continue advocating for proper rehabilitation of the mine and plant and for Alcoa to make sure that the remaining Anglesea workers are properly looked after.”
