Alcoa Corp. announced that construction will soon begin on a project to increase the casting capabilities at its Deschambault smelter in Canada to include standard ingots. The new casting equipment will be constructed in an existing building, with the project scheduled to be fully complete in the first quarter of 2023. The output from the approximately $8 million return-seeking capital investment will complement the site’s two existing vertical casting pits, which exclusively cast T-bar ingots.

Adding standard ingot casting to the site’s capabilities will allow greater flexibility for alloying in smaller batches to meet customer needs for value-add products such as foundry alloys for the automotive industry. Each standard ingot weighs approximately 23 pounds (10.5 kg).

The Deschambault smelter, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2022, completed the installation of additional electrical infrastructure earlier this year that will allow it to continue to increase its production. The smelter has a nameplate capacity of 287,000 metric tons of aluminum per year.