Alcan Mulls Bauxite Mine in Madagascar
Canadian aluminum producer Alcan Inc. on Thursday said it plans to study the development of a bauxite mine and alumina refinery in Madagascar.
The facility would have an initial capacity of 1 million to 1.5 million tons of alumina annually.
Alcan said it would undertake the study with Access Madagascar Sarl, a Malagasy company that holds exploration rights in the region. The companies expect to complete the study during the second quarter of 2007. Feasibility studies could follow.
Alcan studied the same region for development in the 1960s and 1970s, said Jacynthe Cote, president and chief executive of Alcan Bauxite and Alumina. Now the company returns with “vastly improved technology,” she said, which could make a project viable.
Shares of Alcan rose 23 cents to $47.05 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
