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Asset Retirement Obligations | 6 Months Ended
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Jun. 30, 2011
Notes to Financial Statements [Abstract] |
Asset Retirement Obligations | Our asset retirement obligations consist primarily of costs associated with the disposal of spent pot liner used in the reduction cells of our domestic facilities. The reconciliation of the changes in the asset retirement obligations is presented below:
|  | Six months ended June 30, 2011 |  |  | Year ended December 31, 2010 |
Beginning balance, ARO liability |  | $ | 14,274 |  |  | $ | 15,233 |
Additional ARO liability incurred |  |  | 555 |  |  |  | 1,057 |
ARO liabilities settled |  |  | (658 | ) |  |  | (1,162 | )
Accretion expense |  |  | 551 |  |  |  | 1,040 |
Adjustments (1) |  |  | — |  |  |  | (1,894 | )
Ending balance, ARO liability |  | $ | 14,722 |  |  | $ | 14,274 |
(1) | We adjusted our ARO liability in the first quarter of 2010 for changes in the estimated amounts and timing of costs associated with the disposal of spent potliner.
Certain conditional AROs related to the disposal costs of fixed assets at our primary aluminum facilities have not been recorded because they have an indeterminate settlement date. These conditional AROs will be initially recognized in the period in which sufficient information exists to estimate their fair value.

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- Definition Description of the asset retirement obligation and the associated long-lived asset. An asset retirement obligation is a legal obligation associated with the disposal or retirement from service of a tangible long-lived asset that results from the acquisition, construction or development, or the normal operations of a long-lived asset, except for certain obligations of lessees. This element may be used for all the disclosures related to asset retirement obligations. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 143 -Paragraph 22 + Details
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