Rio Tinto Alcan Lynemouth

Rio Tinto Alcan Lynemouth

Introduction

An extensive industrial development site in south east Northumberland on the north east coast of England which benefits from an outstanding location with excellent air, road and rail links.
Location
The former Rio Tinto Alcan aluminium smelter at Lynemouth has land holdings located on the edge of the county of Northumberland, overlooking the North Sea. The operational area and surrounding land holding comprises approximately 2,126 hectares (ha) of freehold and leasehold property and benefits from its close proximity to the A1 and A19, the two major road networks providing links with the rest of the region and beyond. The site is located approximately 18 miles north east of the vibrant and historic City of Newcastle upon Tyne and is just 20 minutes away from Newcastle International Airport by car. The land immediately surrounding the site is predominantly agricultural. It is owned and operated by Rio Tinto Alcan Farms Limited. Nearby towns and villages include Ashington, Cramlington, Ellington, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and Blyth.

The smelter complex consists of raw material unloading facilities, a carbon plant, two potlines used for the electrolytic reduction of alumina to aluminium and a casting plant for the production of aluminium sheet ingot. There are also a number of other buildings located throughout the site of various size and purpose. They include a Gatehouse, Gymnasium, Emergency Vehicle Garage and a Canteen along with a substantial car park.

Infrastructure and Utilities

The smelter complex is served by the strategic highway network (A189 and A197) with direct access from the C123 which links the villages of Lynemouth and Woodhorn. The A189 lies approximately 1 km to the south of the site. The smelter is serviced by a branch line which links with the East Coast Mainline rail network at Bedlington Junction. The East Coast Mainline lies approximately 5 km to the west of the smelter. The site has a substantial 11kV power supply fed from dedicated transformers. Natural gas is fed to the smelter gas governor from an underground highpressure pipeline which crosses Alcan Farms land to the south. Fresh water is supplied to the site directly from the Northumbrian Water distribution network.

Description
The plant opened in 1971 to produce aluminium by electrolysis. The smelter is centred on national grid reference NZ 295898 and is situated at an approximate elevation of 20 meters Above Ordnance Datum (mAOD). The site comprises a rectangular parcel of land amounting to approximately 42 ha, which includes the main production area of the facility and ancillary activities.

Rio Tinto Alcan Lynemouth

Smelter overview
Site dimensions Site area Site services Overall 1020m x 545m Approximately 42 hectares (ha) - excluding farms Natural gas 8 incoming supply @ 1 Bar Electricity 7.5 MVA (potential for more if needed) Water supply 6 incoming supply @ 100 P.S.I. (7 Bar)

Potrooms overview
Building Building use Building dimensions Courtyard dimensions Floor area Building construction Services to building Potrooms x4 buildings with separate courtyards Aluminium production 539.5m x 23.775m x 11.506m high from suspended floor to underside of building truss steelwork, 14.86m high from solid basement floor level to underside of building truss steelwork Outer courtyards - 515.7m x 30.48m (between buildings 1-2 & 3-4), Centre courtyard - 515.7m x 23.16m (between buildings 2 & 3) Each Potroom building - 12,827m2 Steel structure and part aluminium cladding 2 x 65 tonne cranes per building, electricity and telecoms

Carbon Plant area overview

Building Building use Building dimensions Carbon plant area 22 buildings (includes buildings at ends of Potrooms) Producing and storing anode blocks A lot of the buildings have cranes with varying safe working loads. The approximate overall dimensions of this part of the plant are: 320m x 360m giving an area of: 115200m2 General building construction Services to building Steel structure and part aluminium cladding Cranes, electricity, natural gas and telecoms

Rio Tinto Alcan Lynemouth

Casting Plant overview

Building Building use Building dimensions Floor area Building construction Services to building Casting plant - incorporating the service shop, table storage building and laboratory Producing aluminium ingot Approximate casting total 130m x 102m x 13.5m high, table storage building 39.9m x 20m x 7.76m high Casting plant 10,070m2 service shop 915.25 m2 labs & I.T. 1790 m2 table storage building 798 m2 Steel frame, clad with profiled aluminium cladding 2 x 20 tonne cranes, 5 tonne crane (service shop), electricity, natural gas and telecoms

Divisional Office overview

Building Building use Building dimensions Floor area Building construction Services to building Main office block Office accommodation and meeting room facilities 24.78m x 15.72m x 3m high 397m2 (includes porch) Brick with glass & PVC cladding Water, electricity & telecomms

Site layout

North Office Block overview

Building Building use Building dimensions Floor area Building construction Services to building North office block Office accommodation, meeting rooms and laboratory 96.15m x 9.07 x 3m high 872m2 Brick construction with glass and PVC cladding Water, electricity and telecoms

To find out more about Rio Tinto Alcan Lynemouth Contact: John McCabe Regional Economic Development Director Lynemouth Ashington Northumberland NE63 9YH England T: M: F: E: +44 (0)1670 39 3534 +44 (0)7736 10 3158 +44 (0)1670 39 3919 john.mccabe@riotinto.com David Ian Jones Site Director Lynemouth Ashington Northumberland NE63 9YH England T: M: F: E: +44 (0)1670 39 3749 +44 (0)7793 44 0990 +44 (0)1670 39 3956 davidian.jones@riotinto.com

http://www.rtalynemouth.co.uk Twitter: @RTA_Lynemouth