VIMETCO N.V. 
By Amsterdam, 10 April 2012 - Vimetco NV (LSE: VICO), the global producer of primary and processed aluminium products, today announces that its Chinese unit, Henan Zhongfu Industry Co., Ltd., has decreased its energy consumption to the lowest level worldwide, following a commercial test of new technology.
"We will be able to significantly reduce the power consumption of the aluminium electrolysis process under low temperatures and low voltage using this advanced technology", explained Gheorghe Dobra, CEO of Vimetco. "This is an extremely important achievement for our R&D team in China that will allow us to increase the efficiency of our aluminium smelters. This also secures our role as a leading innovation-oriented company, which was a pioneer in using 400 kA new generation effective electrolyzers on an industrial scale in 2008, and currently is successfully operating several smelters with 400 kA elecrolyzers, with a total capacity of 490 000 tons.
This new achievement was possible due to the consistent progressive strategy pursued by Mr. Zhang Honeng, CEO in China. We are very grateful to the Chinese authorities that offered us their full support in this project and to the group of Henan Zhongfu Industry experts, headed by Doctor Liang Xuemin, who have a strong merit in performing research and adopting technology commercially."
Mr Frank Mueller, Vimetco COO, added, "I would also like to note that Henan Zhongfu Industry initiated the creation of the Strategic Alliance for the Development of Aluminium Electrolysis Technology, which, with the support of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the PRC, Academy of Sciences of the PRC and the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA), is carrying out an important programme of research and adopting new technologies."
According to Antaike, a leading Chinese metals information provider (www.antaike.com), the Research and Development Department at Vimetco's Henan Zhongfu Industry has successfully achieved "low-temperature low-voltage aluminum smelting technology." As a result, the DC (direct current) consumption has decreased to 11,819 kWh/tonne of aluminium, down by 10.7% from 13,235 kWh/tonne.
The project was co-financed by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the PRC and passed the exam and appraisal of an expert team organized by the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA).
For further information please contact:
www.vimetco.com
Florenta Ghita
Premium Communication
Bucharest
Phone +40 (0)21 411 01 52
Email florenta.ghita@premiumpr.ro
About Vimetco
Vimetco N.V. is a global, vertically integrated producer of primary and processed aluminium products with major production assets in Romania, Sierra Leone and China, and a holding company in The Netherlands. Vimetco NV controls an aluminium production capacity of 1.1 million tonnes of aluminum annually. Vimetco's shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: VICO).
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