a pair of horizontally extending flanges 16 that space the active part of plate 10 from the sidewall of the cell a passage 15 is provided between flanges 16 for the down flow of alumina enriched electrolyte 60 from above the upper end 27 of active anode structure 25 and then behind the drained cathode surface 11 to the lower end of the anode cathode gap 40 instead of using plates with flanges that delimit an electrolyte passage a substantially uniformly planar cathodic plate may be provided with an opening in its upper part or alternatively a substantially uniformly planar cathodic plate may be placed against one or more spaced apart protrusions extending from the cell sidewall or against a recess in the sidewall at the level of the upper part of the cathodic plates the cathodic plate 10 is made of aluminium wettable openly porous material that is mechanically and chemically resistant and filled with molten aluminium as described above the anode 20 is suspended in the electrolyte 60 by a yoke 21 with the downwardly orientated active anode surface formed by the v shaped grid like foraminate structure 25 substantially parallel to the upwardly oriented cathode surfaces 11 the v shaped grid like foraminate structure 25 is made of a series of parallel horizontal rods 26 shown in cross section forming a downwardly oriented generally v shaped.