Comalco Heads To Discuss Plans For Bluff Smelter

Press, Volume C, Issue 29511, 12 May 1961, Page 15

Comalco Heads To Discuss Plans For Bluff Smelter

To discuss plans for the site of the aluminium reduction smelter at Bluff and the construction of an underground hydro-electric power station below the west arm of Lake Manapouri, six executives and technicians of Comalco Industries of Australia and the Kaiser Aluminium and Chemical Company of the United States arrived at Christchurch Airport from Melbourne late yesterday afternoon.

The party travelled from Melbourne in a private Grumman Gulfstream aircraft, and disembarked at Harewood for a short stop before continuing their flight to Invercargill. The visitors, who plan to leave New Zealand in the same aircraft next Tuesday, are Messrs S. Christie and E. H. Sangwine, joint general managers of Comalco Industries, A. F. Kritcher, chief engineer for the Kaiser Corporation. K. Ricketts, a Kaiser engineer seconded to Comalco, and J. Finch and T. Oom. both technical experts employed by Comalco.

There were several technical and economic problems to be considered in the likely sites for the smelting plant at Bluff, said Mr Christie. The main purpose of the visit was to investigate at least three sites, although the company’s plans were fairly flexible, and no definite decision had to be made “for quite a while yet.” Whatever equipment and plant for the project could be economically manufactured in New Zealand, would be used, said Mr Christie. However, because of Australia’s proximity and its iron and steel resources, a gc-" 1 ' r <?r''-tion would probail from there. ’

The company already had representatives in Southland investigating sites, but it was unlikely there would be intense activity in the area before the end of 1962. said Mr Christie. The first work would be concerned with the Manapouri power scheme, and the smelter construction would probably be as much as 12 months behind.

He had had a good deal of experience in power generation for aluminium projects, and had come on to New Zealand with the Comalco representatives after investigating the bauxite plant at Weipa, in Northern Queensland. said Mr Kritcher. He would be returning to the United States after the New Zealand visit. The party left again for Invercargill at 5.15 p.m.