Point Comfort alumina refinery in Texas is 100% AWAC owned and has a nominal annual capacity of 2.3 million tonnes of alumina. The refinery produces smelter-grade alumina and alumina hydrates (chemical –grade alumina). Point Comfort uses gas-fired cogeneration facilities to supply process heat and power to the refinery.

In late 2008, 550,000 mtpy of alumina production was curtailed as a result of the global market conditions.

Point Comfort is 210 kilometres south of Houston on Port Lavaca Bay. Port facilities are linked to the Gulf of Mexico through a 35-kilometre channel. Bauxite is sourced from AWAC's affiliate in Guinea and from MRN in Brazil.

In Jamaica, AWAC owns Alcoa Minerals of Jamaica LLC, a US based company which holds a joint venture interest in Jamaica. The joint venture is called Jamalco and is a 55/45 joint venture between AWAC and a Jamaican Government business. Jamalco owns and manages bauxite mines, an alumina refinery (Clarendon) and port facilities.

Bauxite mines are 40 kilometres to the north of the refinery in the Mocho Mountains and mining rights are owned by Jamalco.

Jamalco's Clarendon refinery, 70 kilometres west of Kingston, has an annual capacity of 1.4 million tonnes. The joint-venture partners are responsible for marketing their own share of production.

During 2003 annual production capacity was increased by 250,000 tonnes to 1.25 million tonnes following a US$115 million expansion. A 146,000 mtpy further expansion of the Jamalco refinery was completed in 2007.

Oil-powered turbines provide energy to the refinery and surplus power produced is sold into the Jamaican public electricity grid.

In Suriname, AWAC operates through the entity "Suralco", which has interests in bauxite mines in north-east Suriname and south of Paranam, hydro-electric facilities at Afobaka Lake, and an alumina refinery at Paranam. The hydro-electric facilities at Afobaka supply the Paranam alumina refinery and sell electricity to the Suriname Government.

Located in north-east Suriname, the Moengo mine is 100% owned by Suralco. Bauxite is barged 200 kilometres to the refinery at Paranam.

With respect to the Paranam refinery, at current rates of production it is likely that the supply of bauxite from existing sources in eastern Suriname will be exhausted in the next several years. Other alternative sources of bauxite are being evaluated in eastern Suriname, for potential development over the period 2011 to 2013.

The 2.2 million tonnes-per-annum alumina refinery at Paranam sources bauxite from the Moengo mine. AWAC wholly owns the bauxite mining and alumina refining operations in Suriname following the July 2009 acquisition on the BHP Billiton subsidiary that was 45 per cent joint venture partner.

In May 2009, the Suralco alumina refinery announced a curtailment of 870,000 metric tonnes per year. The curtailment was aimed at deferring further bauxite extraction until additional in-country bauxite resources are developed and market conditions for alumina improve.

AWAC operates in Brazil through its company AWA Brasil, which holds an 18.9% interest in the Alumar alumina refinery at São Luis, north-east Brazil.

Other participants are Alcoa Aluminio S.A. (35.1%), BHP Billiton Metais SA (36%) and an affiliate of Alcan Aluminio Do Brazil SA (10%). The consortium is managed on a production and cost-sharing basis. Alcoa Aluminio operates the refinery and Abalco has special rights in any expansion. AWAC also owns a 2.6 million metric tonne per year bauxite mine at Juruti.

The Juruti operations, which are part of the Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals (AWAC) joint venture with Alcoa consists of a port facility, a mine and a 50 kilometre rail system to the port. Initial output at the mine will ramp up to 2.6 million metric tons per year (mtpy).

Bauxite from Juruti will be shipped to the Alumar alumina refinery in Sao Luis, Brazil which has undergone a 2.1 million mtpy expansion program that will bring total production there to 3.5 million mtpy. Following the expansion, Alcoa Aluminio and AWAC combined hold a 54 percent share of the refinery. The remaining share is held by BHP Billiton (36 percent) and Rio Tinto Alcan (10 percent).

The expansion of the Alumar alumina refinery in northern Brazil completed in 2009, more than doubled capacity from 1.5 million metric tons of alumina per year (mtpy) to 3.6 million mtpy. The AWAC share of the expansion will be 1.1 million mtpy.

Alumar, located in Maranhão state outside São Luis, Brazil, is jointly owned by Alcoa Aluminio and Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals/AWAC (54 percent), BHP Billiton (36 percent) and Rio Tinto Alcan (10 percent). Alcoa manages the facility.

The AWAC share of the Alumar refinery expansion will be supplied by the recently completed AWAC Juruti bauxite mine. Production at the refinery is increasing to near capacity.

AWAC owns and operates a shipping operation that provides transport for AWAC's alumina business and to third parties, including Alcoa. Operating seven owned and other chartered vessels, this business transports bauxite, alumina, caustic soda, fuel oil, petroleum, coke and limestone. Two large carriers operate between Australia and the United States, carrying alumina to smelters on the west coast of the United States and backfilling with raw materials such as petroleum, coke and caustic soda for the Australian alumina operations. Three smaller vessels operate in the Caribbean carrying alumina from Suriname and Jamaica to the south and north coasts of the United States. These ships are also backfilled with raw materials for the Suriname and Jamaican operations. AWAC operates two 30,000-tonne-vessels that transport alumina from the West Australian refineries to the Victorian aluminium smelters. AWAC also charters carriers to transport bauxite, alumina and aluminium between its various global operations.