Tomago Aluminium Smelter Expansion

When Tomago Aluminium decided to install Potline No. 3 at its smelter near Newcastle, it entrusted the engineering, procurement and construction management services to a joint venture in which Fluor provided construction management and project controls.

A total of 280 new smelting pots were installed, expanding the plant's capacity from 240,000 to 400,000 tons per year to make it the largest aluminum smelter in Australia.

On announcing state government approval for the expansion, the Minister for State Development, John Hannaford, described the project as ‘the biggest single industrial project to be undertaken in New South Wales in a decade'. The original smelter's construction had set the previous milestone.

Construction spanned two years. Tomago Aluminium had stipulated the priority was minimum capital cost: the project was completed under budget and hailed as a significant success.