Alcoa: Sold 10% Stake In Ghana’s Valco Smelter To Government

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- U.S. aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. (AA) has sold its 10% stake in Ghana’s Volta Aluminum Company, or Valco, a company spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires Friday.

"I can confirm that a transaction [with Ghana’s government] has taken place," said Alcoa’s Kevin Lowery. "We have sold our stake."

The Valco aluminum smelter in Tema takes its power from the Volta River Authority but drought conditions in Ghana have for many years created problems with energy supplies. This has seen the smelter closed at times, but it was last restarted at reduced capacity in 2005.