Rio Tinto secures future of NZ aluminium smelter, acquires full ownership
Commodities giant Rio Tinto announced on Friday that it would keep New Zealand’s sole aluminium smelter operational until at least 2044, following the completion of new 20-year electricity supply agreements.
The Tiwai Point smelter, owned and operated by New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS), has secured these contracts with key energy providers.
The agreements involve contracts with Meridian Energy, Contact Energy and Mercury NZ, setting pricing for 572 MW of electricity to meet the smelter’s needs.
NZAS CEO Jérôme Pécresse said he was pleased with the collaborative effort that led to these deals.
“They give us confidence that our New Zealand workforce and assets can continue competitively producing the high purity, low-carbon aluminium needed for the global energy transition,” he said.
The new electricity arrangements include 20-year demand response agreements with Meridian Energy and Contact Energy, under which NZAS may be requested to reduce electricity consumption by up to a total of 185 MW. This will help ensure secure electricity supply to New Zealand homes and businesses when it is most needed.
In a related development, Rio Tinto has agreed to buy Sumitomo Chemical Company’s (SCC’s) 20.64% interest in NZAS, taking full ownership of the smelter.
The financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.
Rio Tinto is also set to acquire SCC’s 2.46% interest in Boyne Smelters Ltd (BSL), which operates the Boyne Island aluminium smelter in Gladstone, Australia. This will increase Rio Tinto’s interest in BSL to 61.85%.
Both transactions are part of SCC’s broader business portfolio transformation and are subject to approvals by New Zealand’s Overseas Investment Office and Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation