Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) is investing $188 million (C$240 million) to increase the production capacity for low-carbon, high-value aluminum billets at its Alma smelter in Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, by 202,000 tonnes.
The existing casting centre at Rio Tinto’s Alma plant will be expanded to accommodate new state-of-the-art equipment, including a casting pit and furnaces, allowing a larger portion of the aluminum produced to be converted to higher value billets.
Construction will begin in May 2023, after completing detailed engineering and preliminary work, and commissioning is expected in the first quarter of 2025.
“This expansion of our low-carbon aluminum billet production capacity in Quebec will allow us to better meet our customer’s growing demand for high-quality alloys and value-added products made with renewable hydroelectricity,” Sébastien Ross, managing director of Rio Tinto Aluminium’s Atlantic operations said in a media release.
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