MOZAL DELAYS BYPASS

The management of the Mozal aluminium smelter announced on Friday evening that it is delaying the “bypass” operation whereby emissions from the smelter’s carbon plant will be sent straight into the atmosphere instead of passing through filters.However, the rebuilding of the Fume Treatment Centres (FTCs), of which the filters are an integral part, will begin, as scheduled, on Monday.The delay in starting the bypass, the Mozal statement continued, is in order to give the company time “to respond to additional requests for information from the interested parties”.The statement adds that “Mozal remains concerned with the risks concerning the structural integrity of the FTCs associated with delaying the project beyond the agreed plans. All options to speed up the process are being considered”.“We are confident in our processes so far and we shall continue to guarantee that the project is in accordance with national and international directives”, the short statement concluded.The two FTC’s handle the emissions from the plant where the carbon anodes, used in the electrolytic process that reduces alumina to aluminium, are baked. The base of these buildings has become dangerously corroded, and unless they are replaced, they could collapse.The engineering work is now scheduled so that the filters are not immediately shut down. The Mozal statement does not indicate for how long bypassing the filters can be delayed.The total period envisaged for the FTC rebuild is 137 days.