The Press WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1971. The Bluff smelter

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32778, 1 December 1971, Page 16

The Press WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1971. The Bluff smelter

When the Prime Minister yesterday described the opening of the Bluff aluminium smelter as a “ break-through in national development ” it was hardly an exaggeration. The smelter is the largest overseas industrial enterprise in New Zealand and the first major industry in the country in which a raw material is imported, processed, and exported. Apart from its obvious benefits to the country in overseas exchange earnings and in the production of aluminium for use in New Zealand, the smelter and its associated works are expected to provide employment for up to 2000 people in Southland when foil capacity is reached. As Sir Keith Holyoake also pointed out, “ a major industry breeds industry ”; and the smelter may well, in time, become the centre of a complex of manufacturing enterprises. It is disappointing that output from the smelter will not be developed as rapidly as was expected; but this does not detract from the importance of the occasion. The first potline producing 73,000 tons of aluminium a year is in operation; a delay of “ some “ months ” has been announced in the operation (but not the construction) of the second potline, which was to have increased the output to 110,000 tons by the middle of next year. Output is being trimmed to take account of a glut in the supply of aluminium throughout the world; but fluctuations in the supply and demand for aluminium have tended in the past to level out fairly quickly. Although the timing of further expansion will depend on the market, the smelter is still planned to produce 220,000 tons a year. In the meantime rather more electricity than was originally expected should be available to the national grid from the Manapouri power station. It will not be unwelcome at a time when a temporary shortage of power for domestic consumption at peak loads appears a distinct possibility.