FOCUS - Kaiser aims to regain strength by mid-2000

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kaiser Aluminum Corp. expects to regain most of its strength by mid-2000 after an explosion forced the closure of its Louisiana alumina plant, a long-running labor dispute, and two consecutive quarters of losses, Kaiser officials said Wednesday.

In his remarks to analysts, Kaiser CEO Haymaker also pointed to improvements in the operation of the company's 90-percent owned Volta Aluminium Co. Ltd. (Valco) smelter in Ghana, with three out of five potlines operating. The three lines represent approximately 120,000 metric tons per year of primary capacity. All five potlines have a rated annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes. Low water levels during the first half of 1998 left only one potline running until the beginning of the second quarter.

``The Valco smelter's operating rate is higher than it has been in some time,'' Haymaker said. ``The facility is operating well and rainfall levels in the country are promising.''

Raymond Milchovich, Kaiser's president and chief operating officer, said, ``With an operating rate at Valco at 60 percent and with the final pot(lines) at Mead coming on line in August, we'll actually have a smelter operating rate that's the best that we've seen in 18 months.''