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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Contact Energy earnings may be hit by Meridian's negotiations with Rio smelter
Contact Energy is expected to report a pickup in underlying earnings, but faces headwinds from state asset sales and Meridian's contract negotiations with the Tiwai aluminium smelter. New Zealand's largest private sector electricity company, Contact is due to report results for the year to June 30...
Meridian Energy to accept non-commercial electricity terms for Tiwai smelter
State-owned Meridian Energy won't "take one for the team" and accept non-commercial terms for electricity to keep the Rio Tinto-controlled Tiwai Point aluminium smelter open, says chief executive Mark Binns. He described as "a concern" the London-listed multinational metals firm's desire to...
EU Seeks Comments on Rio Tinto Alcan's Offer to Solve Aluminum Antitrust Concerns
European Union antitrust regulators are seeking comments on commitments that Rio Tinto Alcan offered to solve competition concerns about the contractual use of a technology to process aluminum, the European Commission said Friday. "The European Commission is inviting comments from interested...
Rio Tinto plans smelter closures
Rio Tinto's attempt to renegotiate New Zealand's largest electricity contract, for its aluminium smelter at Bluff, comes as the company's chief executive warns of "difficult decisions" ahead if its older smelters cannot be made commercially viable. Rio, the world's third-largest mining company,...
Rio casts doubt on its Gove alumina refinery's future
Rio Tinto has fingered its Gove alumina refinery in northeast Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory as the worst performer among its ailing aluminium interests, raising questions about the future of the remote operation in the absence of a sustained improvement in prices for its intermediate...
Rio Tinto advances Diamond assets sales as Aluminum Plan Stalls
Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third- largest mining company, said its plan to sell diamond assets is “well advanced,” while the divestment of aluminum operations has stalled after prices for the lightweight metal fell. Rio is “looking at multiple options” for its diamonds division, Chief Financial...
Bluff smelter seeks change in power contract
The owners of the aluminium smelter at Bluff want to change their contract with state-owned electricity provider Meridian Energy. Meridian Energy today said it had been approached by Pacific Aluminium, a business unit of Rio Tinto Ltd, to discuss potential changes to the electricity contract with...
Rio Tinto to release more Aluminum Assets and Diamonds business
Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) continues to look at ways to exit some of its aluminum assets and its diamonds business and has had interest from potential buyers in individual operations as well as collectively, the mining giant's chief financial officer said Wednesday. Guy Elliott during a conference call...
Rio’s first-half profit drops 22%
Rio Tinto Group (RIO), the world’s third- largest mining company, said first-half profit dropped 22 percent after prices for iron ore, copper and aluminum fell and costs gained. Net income declined to $5.9 billion from $7.6 billion a year earlier, London-based Rio said today in a statement. That...
BHP expected to reduce its asset value further
BHP Billiton's savage writedown of its US shale gas assets has raised the prospect of further billion-dollar impairments in other parts of the business, with the group's struggling aluminium operation in the spotlight before the full-year results in two weeks' time. Announcing the $US2.84 billion...
Rio Tinto Alcan and Kitimat aluminium workers' union reach a tentative agreement
Rio Tinto Alcan and the union representing workers at the Kitimat aluminium smelter and powerhouse operations in Kemano in northwest British Columbia have reached a tentative labour agreement. "We are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement with the union representatives at our Kitimat...
Jobless workers of closed Lynemouth smelter find new jobs
Almost three quarters of the workforce who lost their jobs when Rio Tinto Alcan’s doomed Lynemouth plant closed have found new employment. The aluminium plant shed 360 jobs when the power supply to the smelter was switched off in March, and more will follow when it ceases operation at the end of...
French Government wants ‘firm’ discussions with Rio Tinto Alcan over its plant closure plans
Arnaud Montebourg, the French Minister for Industrial Renewal, is looking forward to a 'firm' discussion with Rio Tinto Alcan over its proposed September 2012 closure of the Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne aluminium smelter. According to Monteberg, the site is profitable and Rio Tinto's closure plan is not...
Australia's former ambassador to China criticises Rio Tinto’s Chinese bribery scandal
Australia's former ambassador to China Geoff Raby has called Rio Tinto Ltd.’s Chinese bribery scandal a breach of "corporate governance," the first time he has commented on the issue nearly one year after stepping down from the diplomatic post, according to The Australian. "I will always be a bit...
Rio Tinto Alcan can finish second tunnel at Kemano
Rio Tinto Alcan has been given the green light to complete the construction of the second tunnel at Kemano power station site. Spokesperson Colleen Nyce says operations stopped last week because the company had not received its full approval of the final water licence amendment. "Rio Tinto Alcan is...
Rio Tinto Landfill upgrade improves community recycling by 20 per cent
This month marks six months since upgrades to the Evans Landing landfill came into effect, an important milestone in terms of the community working together to dispose of waste appropriately. During 2010 and 2011, $ 2.5 million worth of upgrades were made to the 30-year-old facility, including a...
Rio Tinto Alcan launches website to update on Lynemouth Aluminium smelter closure
A dedicated website has been launched to keep people informed about the closure process at Northumberland’s biggest private sector employer. Rio Tinto Alcan (RTA) has created it so that the public and local stakeholders can stay up to date with the lengthy; closure de-commissioning and legacy work...
Newman pushes for Rio Tinto bauxite mine at Cape York
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has vowed to overhaul laws to allow Rio Tinto to proceed with its $1.4 billion South of Embley bauxite mine at Cape York. Mr Newman, who also announced a six-month action plan at the Liberal National Party annual convention in Brisbane on Friday, said his...
