French Group Seeks Solutions To Alucam's Energy Woes--Official

11th Jul 2010 01:48

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (Dow Jones)--Medef International, a French trade group representing a diverse selection of manufacturers, energy, infrastructure and financial companies, has sent delegates to Cameroon to seek ways for that country's lone aluminum smelter, the Societe Camerounaise d'Aluminium, or Alucam, to triple its aluminum output from the current annual yield of 90,000 metric tons, a Cameroon government official said Saturday. France is the largest importer of Cameroon's aluminum industry The company entered a strategic partnership with Tinto Alcan, a unit of Rio Tinto Plc (RTP, RIO.LN) in 2005, in hopes of expanding the company's yearly alumina output to 300,000 by 2015. Like all mining and industrial units in Cameroon, Alucam suffers from an acute energy shortage, which has forced the company to slash 2009-2010 alumina production by about 40%. "The [difficulty] of acquiring sufficient energy is still a big problem for Alucam. Part of this week's meeting with Medef International focused on resolving the energy problem suffered by Alucam. Also, Medef could help Alucam secure part or all of the $1.8 billion required for the company's expansion program," said a senior official in Cameroon's ministry of Energy and Water. "To quicken this move Alucam is looking for partners worldwide to get its energy woes resolved, possibly secure the necessary funds for its expansion, while waiting for existing energy projects to get ready," said the official, who preferred speaking on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, Alucam entered a 30-year deal last year to secure power from AES-Sonel, the Cameroon affiliate of U.S. energy firm AES Corp. (AES). AES will supply 490 megawatts of electricity to Alucam beginning this year, then down to 250 megawatts by 2015. -By Emmanuel Tumanjong, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; +237-9655-6261; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 10, 2010 20:48 ET (00:48 GMT)