Century Aluminum Company - Company Announcement (is)

Century Aluminum Names Michael Bless as Acting President and Chief Executive Officer

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ: CENX) today announced that its Board of
Directors has appointed Michael Bless as Acting President and Chief Executive
Officer. 

Terence Wilkinson, Chairman of Century's Board of Directors said, "During his
tenure at Century, Mike has played a pivotal role in guiding the Company
through and out of the financial crisis while demonstrating strong leadership
and winning the respect of his peers. His experience makes him an excellent
choice to guide the Company forward at this juncture. The Board believes the
Company is well positioned to succeed and we have great confidence in Mike's
abilities and in those of the other members of Century's leadership team."

Mr. Bless has served as Century's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer since January 2006 and will continue to retain that role. Prior to
joining Century, Mr. Bless previously served as the Chief Financial Officer of
Rockwell Automation, Inc. and was an investment banker at Dillon, Read & Co.
for over 10 years. "I am honored by the opportunity to lead Century at this critical juncture,"
Bless said. "We are continuing our efforts to return the Hawesville smelter to
stable operations, and remain on track to reach full capacity during the first
quarter of 2012. Grundartangi's performance continues to be excellent and
discussions continue in several key areas of the Helguvik project as we await
the arbitration decision with one of our power suppliers."

Mr. Bless succeeds Logan Kruger, who has terminated his employment with the
Company and resigned as a director. Mr. Kruger has also brought a lawsuit
against the Company alleging breach of contract and wrongful termination. The
Company believes these claims are without merit and intends to vigorously
defend itself against them. 

Certified Advisors for the First North market of the OMX Nordic Exchange
Iceland hf. for Global Depositary Receipts in Iceland: 
Atli B. Gudmundsson, Senior Manager -- Corporate Finance, NBI hf.
Steingrimur Helgason, Director -- Corporate Finance, NBI hf.

Cautionary Statement
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements are statements about future, not past, events and involve certain
important risks and uncertainties, any of which could cause our actual results
to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements,
including, without limitation, declines in aluminum prices or increases in our
operating costs; deterioration of global or local financial and economic
conditions; additional delays in the completion of our Helguvik, Iceland
smelter, including delays or other changes in our ability to secure a reliable
power supply; our ability to successfully manage our executive transition and
our ability to defend ourselves in any associated lawsuits; and our ability to
successfully manage and/or improve performance at each of our operating
smelters. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without
limitation, statements regarding our ability to successfully remedy production
issues at our Hawesville facility and improve its production and shipment
levels; the merits of Mr. Kruger's lawsuit; and the ultimate outcome of our
arbitration with one of the power suppliers to our Helguvik facility. More
information about the risks, uncertainties and assumptions affecting the
Company can be found in the risk factors and forward-looking statements
cautionary language contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other
filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not undertake,
and specifically disclaim, any obligation to revise any forward-looking
statements to reflect the occurrence of future events or circumstances. 


Contacts:
Mike Dildine (media)
831-642-9364

Shelly Harrison (investors)
831-642-9357