Alcan Lynemouth Aluminium Smelter
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The Alcan Lynemouth Aluminium Smelter is situated on the coast of north-east England approx 2 miles south of Lynemouth. The smelter is owned by a Canadian company called Alcan.
The Ordnance Survey grid reference is NZ 294 898.
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[edit] Factors determining the smelter's site
The site for the smelter was chosen because of a variety of factors. The first was electric power to smelt the aluminium. One tonne of aluminium requires the same amount of electricity as the average family uses in 20 years.[citation needed] Because of this, cheap power was needed and less than 200 metres from the smelter is Lynemouth Power Station. The station's site was due to the coal mines nearby, which were also the fundamental reason for the nearby village's creation.
Another factor was labour. Many coal mines in the area had shut down and as a due result, thousands of people were left unemployed. Aluminium smelter is very labour intensive and hard work and the unemployed in the area were used to heavy work. The British government also granted £28 million to the company to help reduce unemployment in the area[citation needed].
Transport was a major factor as bauxite could not be found in the United Kingdom but in places such as Jamaica and Australia. The smelter's location had to be near a port with a good transport link to the smelter. The town of Blyth, which is 13 miles south of the smelter, has a harbour which receives many commercial boats regularly. There was also a railway link from the port going directly to the power station. The railway was split at one point and connected to the smelter. Repair workers could easily be transferred to the smelter via a road link.
In the process of aluminium smelting, water is needed for the cooling process. A good supply of clean water was needed. The smelter, fortunately, was situated less than 250 metres from a clear water lake. The water was connected to the smelter and is pumped regularly. The local council however recently were unhappy with the increasing use of the water and witnessed the lake's water levels drop substantially over a period of 18 months.[citation needed] The smelter was forced to connect to the North Sea and pump water from there instead; however, the water has to be distilled and purified before it can be used[citation needed].
[edit] Worries
The nearby villages were worried about the fate of the smelter if the only remaining coal mine closed and in late 2001, it did. However, instead of closing, the smelter still remains and imports its coal from overseas or from mines in other parts of the country.
[edit] News
Alcan expanded the smelter at a cost of £28 million during 2003 which was massively under-budget[citation needed]. The original budget was believed to be £50 million however the extra money which was to be spent on strengthening the land was not needed due to the discovery of strong bedrock[citation needed]. The expansion created 150 jobs at the smelter[citation needed].
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