CITIC Resources inks new electricity hedging agreement with Portland Aluminium smelter

On August 17, CITIC Resources announced the signing of a new electricity hedging agreement (the “2026 EHA”) with Alcoa’s Portland Aluminium smelter in Australia. This new deal will be active from 1 July 2026 till 30 June 2035, supplying almost 300 MW of electricity to Portland Aluminium smelter.

The previous agreement began on 1 August 2021 and will continue till 30 June 2026, as the officially released announcement by CITIC specified. The Portland Aluminium smelter is jointly run by the agencies listed below:

• Alcoa of Australia Limited (“Alcoa Australia”), which owns a 55% interest in the joint venture
• CITIC Nominees Pty Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, owns a 22.5% interest in the joint venture
• Marubeni Aluminium Australia Pty Ltd., which owns the remaining 22.5% interest

The Portland aluminium smelter is a well-known producer of aluminium, which it extracts by smelting alumina. The day-to-day operations of the smelter are run by Alcoa Australia.

This new agreement has a set timeline of nine years, after which the pact needs to be renewed. Under the deal, CITIC will supply almost 300 MW of electricity for the activities of the smelter. That much energy means approximately 358,000 tonnes of aluminium would be yielded per year. At present, the Portland Aluminium smelter is only capable of producing 75% of the mentioned amount.

It is estimated that after gaining the 2026 EHA security, the Portland Aluminium smelter can hopefully look at a blooming future, despite the fluctuations in the market.

The 2026 EHA allows the smelter to hedge the spot price for electricity for a specific load, thus providing predictability to the price of its electricity supply. It is important to note that the Portland Aluminium smelter is an unincorporated joint venture, not a subsidiary of the company. As such, entering into the 2026 EHA does not trigger disclosure requirements for the company (or its subsidiaries) under Chapter 14 or 14A of the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited.

The Board has made this announcement voluntarily to keep shareholders and potential investors informed of the latest developments concerning the company. It is worth mentioning that securing a stable supply of electricity is critical for the operation of Portland Aluminium smelter.