Sojitz, Itochu to Boost Aluminum Output at Aussie Plant

Tokyo, May 1 (Jiji Press)–Itochu Corp. and Sojitz Corp. said Thursday they will invest a total of 30.8 billion yen to boost the production capacity of an aluminum refinery in Western Australia.

By autumn 2012, the annual capacity of the refinery, Worsley Alumina, will be raised to 4.6 million tons from the current 3.5 million tons, according to the two major Japanese traders.

The refinery, located south of Perth, is owned 86 pct by mining giant BHP Billiton, 9 pct by Sojitz and 5 pct by Itochu.

The total costs for the capacity expansion are estimated at 220 billion yen.

After the expansion, Sojitz will accept 414,000 tons annually and Itochu 230,000 tons.END

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