The smelter was owned by the Canadian aluminium company Alcan, which is part of Rio Tinto.

Alcan now owns over 4,500 acres (18 km2) of land in the local area and employs a farming director.

In early 2005, residents of nearby villages were worried about the fate of the smelter when the only remaining local coal mine, situated at Ellington, closed.

[6] It closed in May 2012 putting 515 people out of work and causing a knock-on effect in its local supply chain.

Alcan cited rising energy costs due to emerging European environmental legislation as the reason.