Chinalco Restarted Most of Idle Alumina and Aluminum Capacity      

On November 27th, 2009 Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco), the parent of Chalco (SH: 601600) announced that it has resumed the operation of its most idle capacity of alumina and aluminum.
    As of end-October 2009, the company was running 90% of its total alumina capacity and 88% of its aluminum capacity in China, according to a high-level manager of Chinalco
He said Chinalco has been posting operating profits since August 2009 after the company implemented cost-cutting measures earlier this year. Under the measures, Chinalco has cut its initial planned investment by RMB3.38 billion so far in 2009 and completed investment of RMB10.7 billion in the first ten months of 2009.
    Chalco once announced to the public that the company maintained a low operating rate in the first half of 2009 - about 66.9% for alumina and 83.4% for aluminum as of end-June. Chalco has about 11 million tons of annual alumina capacity and 4 million tons of aluminum capacity.