Alliance gets air permit for Arizona Al smelter

Arizona has granted prospective secondary aluminum smelter Alliance Metals an air permit, paving the way for the next steps in the project that is expected to break ground in mid/late 2020.

The air permit is a "significant benchmark" Alliance vice president Loren Barton told Argus. The company is now working to receive zoning approvals from La Paz County for the $30mn project.

The company aims to produce approximately 54,431 t/yr (120mn lbs/yr) of secondary aluminum products when the smelter is built, targeting a mixture of tolling and specification alloy.

Alliance aims to begin melting scrap at the facility in late 2020, Barton said.

Prior to its plans for a smelting operation, Alliance's core business was brokering exports of nonferrous scrap to Asia and Europe.

By John Betz