Photo by: Bloomberg
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.