Rio Tinto has completed its acquisition of Sumitomo Chemical Company’s (SCC) 20.64 per cent stake in New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS), marking a significant milestone for the company’s New Zealand operations.
The transaction was finalised on November 1. NZAS, which operates the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, is now wholly owned by Rio Tinto.
This strategic move is aligned with Rio Tinto’s broader ambitions to solidify its position in the aluminium sector and reinforce its commitment to New Zealand.
“We are pleased the acquisition of SCC’s stake in NZAS has now been finalised,” Rio Tinto aluminium pacific operations managing director Armando Torres said.
“This step, along with recently signed electricity arrangements to secure the future of the Tiwai Point smelter, reinforces our long-term commitment to New Zealand.”
In addition to the NZAS acquisition, Rio Tinto has also completed the purchase of SCC’s 2.46 per cent stake in Boyne Smelters Limited (BSL), bringing the company’s total interest in BSL to 73.5 per cent.
This comes on the heels of a previous acquisition of Mitsubishi’s 11.65 per cent stake in BSL, further consolidating Rio Tinto’s ownership in the Australian aluminium production facility.
Both acquisitions, conducted for undisclosed sums, reflect Rio Tinto’s ongoing efforts to expand its control over key assets in the aluminium industry.
In other recent news at Rio, has fully transitioned its Kennecott copper mine in Utah to renewable diesel, positioning it among the lowest-carbon copper producers in the US.
This shift replaces conventional diesel across Kennecott’s entire fleet of 97 haul trucks and heavy machinery, spanning operations at the mine, concentrator, smelter, refinery and tailings facilities.
The switch is set to cut the mine’s Scope 1 emissions by 450,000 tonnes – equivalent to removing 107,000 cars from the road annually.
“The transition to renewable diesel is a significant step toward our decarbonisation goals at Kennecott where we have now reduced emissions by 80 per cent, thanks to a range of initiatives in recent years,” Rio Tinto copper chief operating officer Clayton Walker said.