The Press WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1968. Aluminium

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31835, 13 November 1968, Page 16

The Press WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1968. Aluminium

The establishment of an aluminium smelter at Bluff will not, of itself, lead to the further processing of aluminium in New Zealand. Hopes of such “ manu- “ factoring in depth ” have all too seldom been realised in this country: and seldom such good opportunities occur. The initial production from the smelter will be 70,000 tons a year, and eventually production may be stepped up to 300,000 tons. The current New Zealand consumption of aluminium is about 15.000 tons a year, so that much the greater proportion of the smelter’s output must be sold overseas. However, the demand for aluminium in many industrial uses is growing rapidly. One of the most versatile of metals, it can be substituted for many others—as copper producers have discovered when copper is scarce—and for timber and other building materials. In New Zealand, as elsewhere, the use of aluminium would increase greatly if it could be reduced in price.

The New Zealand user of aluminium should not expect to get cheaper aluminium merely because a smelter is to be built here. The aluminium has to be processed, simplv or elaborately according to its intended use. and many of these processes are costly when performed on a small scale. Only if the Bluff aluminium is processed in large quantities in New Zealand can any substantial drop in prices be expected in this country. Much of the smelter’s output is destined for export, as ingots, to Japan and other overseas markets. But. as Comalco’s export manager (Mr J. R. Hunt) said in an interview in Christchurch this week, New’ Zealand could make “ all the “ aluminium products it needs and have the entire “ South Pacific basin as a market ”. The establishment of the smelter poses a choice for the New Zealand economy: to permit the export of virtually the entire smelter output in crude form, or to develop an export-based aluminium-processing industry. The first option involves no risk for New Zealand, which w’ould benefit by little more than the foreign exchange earned from the sale of electricity used by the smelter. The second option calls for further investment of overseas funds in capital eouipment.' It also involves taking considerable commercial risk in the pursuit of greatly-increased earnings of foreign exchange.