Second smelter

Press, 12 May 1981, Page 16

Second smelter

Sir,—The pamphlet for Fletcher shareholders on the smelter (“The J ress,” May 7) predicts that he world aluminium market las a good future, but other eports, including Professor /an Moeseke’s, describe a nuch less buoyant market. The important point is that the orice paid by the consortium :or electricity would be linked to the world price of aluminium. Mr Birch says that the reason for this is that the aluminium price will rise with the price of oil, but as Moeseke points out: “Since 1950 aluminium has stood still through two oil crises whereas copper, zinc and nickel have doubled.” Dr Bob Wright, economist at Otago University, has further shown that with a 10 per cent drop in the world price from a base case, the Government takes 72 per cent of the risk and the consortium 28 per cent — a strange situation for a socalled “free-enterprise”

Government to support. The Government and Fletchers are ignoring all criticism; the project is being pushed through not thought through. —Yours, etc., SCOTT STOCKER. May 8, 1981.