Hillside aluminium smelter, SA’s largest power consumer, gets a new owner
Smelter is part of a $5.6bn deal that sees aluminium giant Alcoa take over South32’s aluminium assets.
The power guzzling Hillside aluminium smelter – which in 2023 consumed about 5% of Eskom’s total output – is about to get a new owner in the form of global aluminium giant Alcoa.
Also bundled into the deal is South32’s Bayside smelter, placed in care and maintenance in 2020 due to high electricity costs and weak aluminium prices at the time; and the Mozal smelter in Mozambique, which was likewise mothballed in March this year after it failed to secure sufficient power at an affordable price.
