| From Trinidadexpress.com: A cursory look at historic aluminum prices would suggest that, for the second time in 30 years, Trinidad and Tobago, and indeed the region, may have missed out on a golden opportunity to cash in on buoyant market conditions for this commodity metal. Over the last five years Government, companies and anti-smelter lobbyists have been in a running battle over the merits and demerits of a smelter project. In the meantime, the market has witnessed a doubling of aluminum prices from US$1430/tonne in 2003 to US$2900/tonne for 2008 to date. While plans to build the Alutrint facility remain on course, the question now is are we too late?
The desire to have an aluminum industry in T&T is not new. The national consultation on the best use of our natural resources identified aluminum as one of the best options for utilisation of Trinidad's natural gas reserves. An aluminum smelter was considered to have greater potential for employment creation and local value added than say LNG. The smelter was viewed as an excellent example of Caribbean economic integration, combining bauxite from Suriname, Guyana and Jamaica with T&T's natural gas resources..... Full Article: Source
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