US imported 11.5x more primary aluminium from Canada than it exported in semi-fabricated form in H1 2026 - know why
At the US-Canada border, aluminium is constantly on the move, but the direction of trade is far from balanced. In the first six months of 2026, the US imported 907,581.44 tonnes of primary aluminium from Canada, while exporting only 78,886.12 tonnes of semi-fabricated aluminium products such as...
Australian bauxite forecast at $39/t vs Guinea at $34-46/t: How ore quality, freight and oversupply are shaping prices
What happens when the world’s biggest bauxite supplier produces too much of the one commodity it dominates? Guinea’s bauxite market is offering a striking answer. Record exports have strengthened its position in global trade, but the surge in supply has also pushed prices lower. Australia,...
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Rio Tinto Alcan celebrates first metal production in its aluminium smelter in Canada
Rio Tinto Alcan celebrates the first metal produced at its new US$ 1.1 billion Arvida Aluminium Smelter, AP60 Technology Centre, in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. This important milestone marks the transition from a world-class construction project to a 60,000-tonne technology development centre...
MJP aluminium premiums for Q4 will take time to settle
Negotiations between producers and buyers for main Japanese port (MJP) aluminium premiums for fourth quarter delivery continued this week, with purchasers pushing for lower premiums. Rio Tinto opened talks for Q4 MJP premiums via a detailed letter it sent to clients on August 24 asking for a...
Future of Gove alumina smelter affected by NT politics
The driving forces of NT politics – development and dependence – have been amply displayed via the issue of gas supplies for the Gove alumina operation. The owners of Gove have previously thrice rejected the option to pipe gas directly to the facility. Yet six months ago the operation (now owned by...
Rio Tinto invests in French aluminium plant to cut power costs
Rio Tinto has invested nearly 80 million euros in its Dunkirk aluminium plant in the past 18 months and plans to invest at least that much again over the next five years on energy saving and efficiency improvements. The largest aluminium plant in the European Union with 2012 production of 260,000...
Northline wins freight contract for Rio Tinto's Weipa bauxite mine
Northline has won a transport contract to move more than 5000 tonnes of freight annually for Rio Tinto's Weipa bauxite mine. According to the company the freight transported for the mine will be varied, with items moved including printer cartridges right through to capital pieces of equipment like...
Giles' visit to Gove depends on Rio Tinto
"The fate of Nhulunbuy continues to hang in the balance as the Northern Territory government and opposition trade barbs over who is responsible for the escalation of the situation. Leader of the Labor opposition, Delia Lawrie, on Tuesday called for a censure motion of the government over the issue....
Economic data and production cuts boost industrial metal ETP flows
ETFS Aluminium (ALUM), a physically backed aluminium ETP issued by London-based commodity specialist ETF Securities, enjoyed record inflows of $54m over the week. Among the production cuts was the decision by Rio Tinto, the world’s largest aluminium producer, to phase out production at its...
Rio Tinto firms on selling its Alcan aluminium division
Rio Tinto hit a five-month high amid speculation that the miner was moving closer to selling its Alcan aluminium division. Rio finance director Chris Lynch hosted an analyst roundtable this week following its decision to shelve the sale of its Pacific Aluminium and fold it back into Alcan. He said...
Tiwai Point Smelter deal was aimed to save the economy: PM John Key
The only reason the Government offered $30 million to Rio Tinto to keep the Bluff aluminium smelter open was because it is such a large part of the economy, Prime Minister John Key says. Asked at his weekly press conference why the Government hadn't supported other industries threatening to close,...
Rio Tinto to decide on Bauxite expansion within year, Cote says
Rio Tinto Group, the world’s second-largest mining company, will decide within the next year on whether to expand its Weipa bauxite mining operation in Australia to help capture rising demand from China. Bauxite is “the healthiest” of the three products sold by Rio Tinto Alcan, Jacynthe Cote, chief...
Meridian Energy writes down its asset value after negotiating with Tiwai Point smelter
Meridian Energy has posted a 53 percent increase in underlying net profit after tax of $162.7 million, but has had to write down the total value of its assets by $476m after renegotiating the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter power deal. The new deal, announced last week, gives the smelter cheaper...
Rio's cancellation of the divestment plans for Pacific Aluminum not to impact its stakeholders
Rio Tinto's decision to call off the divestment plans for its Pacific Aluminium unit will not impact stakeholders of Australian Boyne Aluminium Smelters and the New Zealand Aluminium Smelters, a spokesman for Sumitomo Chemical, which has stakes in both companies, said Friday. "Following a...
Rio Tinto reveals an 18% drop in underlying earnings
Rio Tinto has revealed an 18% drop in underlying earnings, down to US$4.2bn, in the first half of the year. It blamed lower metal prices and higher taxes for the decline. Rio also put on hold its efforts to sell its aluminium business interests after it couldn’t find a buyer. The FTSE 100 miner...
Rio signs MoU for bauxite mine in northeast Arnhem Land
As Aboriginal leaders call for their communities to become economically independent, the people of northeast Arnhem Land may soon own their own mine. At the Garma Festival held over the weekend on a Yolngu site 14km outside of Nhulunbuy, the Gumatj Aboriginal Corporation and Rio Tinto-owned Gove...
Gove alumina refinery future in doubt as Rio Tinto drops sale plan for PAL
The future of the Gove alumina refinery is again in doubt following the announcement by mining giant Rio Tinto that it is reintegrating its subsidiary Pacific Aluminium in the parent company because it could not sell it for a good price. The Northern Territory Government says it believes the move...
Rio drops plans for Pacific Aluminium unit sale
Rio Tinto has scrapped plans to sell its Pacific Aluminium division, blaming tough market conditions after reporting first-half underlying earnings down almost a fifth on last year. Rio has been trying to divest the business, which is comprised of its Australasian aluminium smelters and the Gove...
Rio hangs on to loss-making aluminium business as profit falls
Mining group Rio Tinto Ltd/Plc has scrapped efforts to sell its loss-making Pacific Aluminium business, blaming poor market conditions as weaker iron ore, copper and coal prices dragged first-half profit down 18 percent. Rio - which has put a handful of assets on the block as it concentrates on...
Meridian Energy reaches electricity contract deal with Tiwai Pt smelter
Meridian Energy has had to give up previously negotiated price increases and the government has chipped in with a $30 million ""incentive payment"" to keep the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter open until at least January 2017. Meridian chief executive Mark Binns announced the deal in a statement to the...
