NEWS RELEASE                             Kobe Steel, Ltd. 
                                     Aluminum Company of America


Kobe Steel and Alcoa to acquire 
Comalco aluminum rolling mill in Australia  

  TOKYO (December 19, 1995) - Kobe Steel, Ltd. and the Aluminum
Company of America today announced that they will acquire Comalco
Limited's Rolled Products operations in Australia.  

  Comalco's Yennora rolling mill in New South Wales, Australia
will become a 50/50 joint venture called KAAL Australia Pty, Ltd. 
The chairman of the joint venture will be Susumu Kikuchi, who will
continue his position as a director at Kobe Steel.  The managing
director will be Chris Lynch, currently general manager of Alcoa
Rolled Products, a division of Alcoa of Australia Limited.  

  The Yennora rolling mill, situated approximately 25 kilometers
west of Sydney, employs approximately 500 people and has a cold
rolling capacity of 100,000 tons per year.  The mill will continue
to produce aluminum sheet, plate and foil for the Australian market, 
as well as aluminum can body stock for the Australian and Asian
markets.  

  The final agreement covering the acquisition and the formation
of the joint venture has been signed and the acquisition is under
review in Australia by the Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission and Foreign Investment Review Board.  If approved, 
the transaction is expected to be completed before the end of
the year. 

  Demand for aluminum can stock in Asia is forecast to grow
tremendously, particularly in China, in future years.  In fiscal
1995, demand in Asia is believed to reach approximately 300,000
tons. 

  The acquisition of the Yennora mill by KAAL Australia will enable
Kobe Steel and Alcoa to continue supplying superior products to
Australian and Asian can makers with which to compete in the
beverage container market.  The joint venture, backed by the
technical resources of the two companies, will also benefit from
Yennora's recent equipment modernization program, as well as its
integrated operations ranging from melting and casting, hot rolling,
and cold rolling.  In a further commitment to these markets,
Kobe Steel and Alcoa have also agreed to discuss the integration of
Alcoa of Australia Limited's Point Henry aluminum rolling facility
under KAAL Australia.  

  The acquisition will further strengthen the strategic alliance
between Kobe Steel and Alcoa initiated in 1990 to jointly pursue
worldwide opportunities in aluminum.  The two companies subsequently
formed KSL Alcoa Aluminum Company, Ltd. (also called KAAL) in Japan
in 1991 to produce aluminum can stock for the Asian market.  Already,
KAAL has a major share of the aluminum can stock market in Asia. 
With KAAL, Kobe Steel is Japan's top producer of rolled aluminum
products and maintains more than a 35% share of the Japanese market
for aluminum can stock.  

Background information on the companies
(in alphabetical order)

Aluminum Company of America
  Alcoa is the world's leading producer of aluminum and alumina.
Alcoa serves customers in the packaging, automotive, aerospace,
construction and other markets with a variety of fabricated and
finished products.  The company is organized into 22 business units,
with 169 operating and sales locations in 26 countries.  Alcoa
employs 65,000 people worldwide.  The company was founded in 1888
and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.  The Chairman
and CEO is Paul H. O'Neill. 

Kobe Steel, Ltd.
Kobe Steel, Ltd. is Japan's leading producer of rolled aluminum and
copper products. In addition to being one of Japan's leading
steelmakers, it is a major supplier of industrial and construction
 machinery, and
plant engineering services.  The company also has businesses in
high-technology areas including electronics, information systems,
factory automation and robotics.  Founded in 1905, the company had
employees of 16,636 as of September 1995.
The president is Sokichi Kametaka.

KSL Alcoa Aluminum, Ltd. (also called KAAL)
KSL Alcoa Aluminum is a 50/50 joint venture between Kobe Steel and
Alcoa established in January 1991.  Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan,
the company produces aluminum can stock in Moka, Tochigi for sale
in Japan and other Asian countries.  KAAL has 68 employees. 
The president is Koh Nakae. 

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Media contacts

Gary Tsuchida		Chris Welberry
Kobe Steel, Ltd.	Alcoa of Australia Limited	
Tokyo, Japan		Melbourne, Australia
Tel (03) 3218-6055	Tel (03) 9270-6254

Al Posti
Aluminum Company of America
Pittsburgh, PA (USA)
Tel (412) 553-4465