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Asset purchase | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2013
Acquisitions [Abstract] |
Asset purchase |
| Asset purchase
In June 2012, our wholly owned subsidiary, Century Aluminum Vlissingen ("Century Vlissingen") purchased substantially all of the assets of the Zalco anode production facility located in Vlissingen, the Netherlands for approximately $12,500. In connection with the purchase, we entered into a ground lease with respect to the facility that is renewable at our option. Century Vlissingen did not assume, and is indemnified by the seller against, historical liabilities of the facility. Following the acquisition, we have undertaken a significant capital investment to modernize the facility, comply with environmental regulations and optimize anode production for our smelter in Grundartangi. We expect the first 75,000 metric tons of capacity will be restarted in late 2013 and will provide an anode supply to replace third-party anode supply contracts that terminated in 2013.

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