Feb 24 (Reuters) - U.S. aluminium company Alcoa Corp ( AA )

is looking to sell 10 of its closed or curtailed sites to

the data centre industry, with the first ​sale set to be

completed by the ‌end of June, its CEO said on Tuesday.

Aluminium producers, which need electricity ⁠for the

energy-intensive smelting process, face stiff competition for

supplies ⁠from power-hungry data centres, but the upsurge ‌in

demand also creates ‌an opportunity to sell stakes in some sites

chosen because of their ​proximity to plentiful energy sources.

Alcoa ( AA ) ‌rival Century Aluminum ( CENX ) this month sold its idled

Hawesville smelting site to a data centre firm, ​retaining a 6.8%

stake.

"We have ​10 sites ‌that we're focused on selling into that

space," Alcoa ( AA ) CEO Bill Oplinger said at the BMO Global ⁠Metals,

Mining and Critical Minerals Conference in Florida. "We think

we'll ⁠have the first sale in the first half of this year. There

are two that could follow quickly after that."

HOW MUCH EXTRA VALUE COULD THERE BE?

Oplinger said Alcoa ( AA ) ⁠had ‌historically looked to maximise

value and minimise liabilities ‌when selling assets. The question

now is how much difference ⁠the advent of AI will mean to

valuations.

"What we're really trying to understand is the value in a

data centre world or an AI world of our individual sites," he

said.

Oplinger said high aluminium prices had not

destroyed demand in the U.S., but ​low prices for raw material

alumina have left 50% of refineries globally cash negative. He

said this would lead to ​cutbacks in alumina production, ‌although

not from Alcoa ( AA ).