British Aluminium

British Aluminium was an aluminium production company. It was originally formed as the British Aluminium Company Ltd on 7 May 1894 and was subsequently known as British Alcan Aluminium plc (1982-1996).

In the late 1880s and early 1890s, innovations in the extraction of alumina from ore (bauxite) and of converting this into aluminium by electrolysis had precipitated a drastic fall in the price of the metal.

The electrolytic process required large amounts of cheap electricity, which could easily be provided by hydro-electric power in the Scottish Highlands. The first aluminium ingots were produced at Foyers in the highlands in 1895 with the first hydro-electric powered smelter opening in 1896 followed by two more, at Kinlochleven in 1909 and Lochaber in 1929. Unsuccessful attempts at bauxite extraction in Northern Ireland forced the company to acquire a controlling interest in Union des Bauxites of Southern France. This established source was supplemented by the acquisition of bauxite rights in British Guiana during World War I followed by more in the Gold Coast (now Ghana), in 1928.

The company produced carbon at three different sites in Scotland and owned four rolling mills in England. In the 1940s and '50s the company opened and/or invested in aluminium plants and infrastructure in Norway, India, Canada, British Guiana and acquired further bauxite resources in Australia.

In 1958, however, finance problems led to the company being taken over by Reynolds Metals and TI Group. Despite overcapacity during the 1960s, a large smelter built on the promise of cheap nuclear generated electricity commenced production in Invergordon in 1971; this plant would close eleven years later.

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