The Covid-19 pandemic may have just sealed the fate of already-struggling aluminium smelting capacity.
At under $1,500 per tonne, aluminium cash prices on the London Metal Exchange are at levels last seen in 2015 and not far shy of the lows seen during the 2008-09 financial crisis. Estimates are that as much as half the world's smelters are now under water, meaning cuts and/or closures are inevitable.Take Iceland, for example. Blessed with access to renewable energy through its reservoirs, rivers and lakes, the country has been a magnet for aluminium smelters for decades. You've got to be able to make money smelting...