https://www.miningweekly.com

Rio's Kitimat smelter off to a good start

Rio's Kitimat smelter off to a good start

Photo by Bloomberg

8th July 2015

By: Esmarie Iannucci

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Australasia

  

Font size: - +

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Mining major Rio Tinto said on Wednesday it was readying to ship the first aluminium from its Kitimat smelter, in Canada, following a $4.8-billion upgrade.

The modernisation of the aluminium smelter increased production capacity by 48%, to 420 000 t/y, and would result in the Kitimat smelter becoming one of the lowest cost smelters in the world.

The project was currently ramping up towards its full capacity.

“The modernisation of Kitimat will fundamentally transform its performance, moving it from the fourth quartile to the first decile of the industry cost curve. At full production, Kitimat will be one of the most efficient, greenest and lowest-cost smelters in the world,” said Rio Tinto aluminium CEO Alf Barrios.

“Positioned in British Columbia on the west coast of Canada, Kitimat is well placed to serve rapidly growing demand for aluminium in the Asia-Pacific region and to serve the North American market.”

The modernised smelter is powered exclusively by Rio’s wholly owned hydro power facility and uses the company’s proprietary AP40 smelting technology, which would effectively halve the smelter’s overall emissions.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

Showroom

Booyco Electronics
Booyco Electronics

Booyco Electronics, South African pioneer of Proximity Detection Systems, offers safety solutions for underground and surface mining, quarrying,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
SAIMC (Society for Automation, Instrumentation, Mechatronics and Control)
SAIMC (Society for Automation, Instrumentation, Mechatronics and Control)

Education: Consulting with member companies to obtain the optimal benefits from their B-BBEE spending, skills resources as well as B-BBEE points

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer
Copper shares soar and green hydrogen goes digital
26th April 2024
Magazine cover image
Magazine round up | 26 April 2024
26th April 2024

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?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.059 0.092s - 90pq - 2rq
1:
1: United States
Subscribe Now
2: United States
2: