MONTREAL, Canada, April 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alcan Inc. (NYSE, TSX: AL) announced today that it has declared Force Majeure on supply contracts from its 2.0 million tonne-per-year (Mt/y) Gove alumina refinery in the Northern Territory of Australia after a category 5 cyclone caused Alcan Gove to interrupt production.
"In accordance with Alcan's Cyclone Emergency Procedures, the site has initiated the shutdown of operations in preparation for Cyclone Monica," said Jacynthe Cote, President and Chief Executive Officer, Alcan Bauxite and Alumina. "All decisions and actions are taken to ensure the safety of employees and the community, as well as to protect the environment and the integrity of the equipment. As a result, we are minimizing the impact on the community, ongoing operations as well as our major expansion project that is underway," Cote continued.
Cote emphasized, "We are already working diligently with our customers to minimize the impact on their operations. We intend to resume production and project construction activities as soon as weather conditions stabilize and it is deemed safe to do so."
Alcan (NYSE, TSX: AL) is a leading global materials company, delivering high quality products, engineered solutions and services worldwide. With world- class technology and operations in bauxite mining, alumina processing, primary metal smelting, power generation, aluminum fabrication, engineered solutions as well as flexible and specialty packaging, today's Alcan is well positioned to meet and exceed its customers' needs. Alcan has 65,000 employees in 59 countries and regions, posted revenues of US$20.3 billion in 2005 and was selected as a Super-Sector Leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. For more information, please visit: http://www.alcan.com/.
Statements made in this press release which describe the Company's intentions, expectations or predictions may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of securities laws. The Company cautions that, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty and that the Company's results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Reference should be made to the most recent Form 10-Q for a summary of major risk factors.
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