Rio Tinto spending $188M to boost aluminum production at Alma smelter in Quebec

Rio Tinto Group will spend $188 million to boost the production capacity for aluminum billets at its Alma smelter in Quebec's Lac-Saint-Jean region by 202,000 tonnes, with commissioning expected in the first quarter of 2025.

The plant's expanded casting center will host new equipment such as a casting pit and furnaces, allowing a larger portion of aluminum production to be converted to higher-value billets, the mining giant said July 13. Construction will start in May 2023.

Aluminum billets are extruded through a die, and the resulting profiles are used to make bumpers and roof rails for cars as well as doors and window frames. Rio Tinto's investment comes amid an expected surge in demand for aluminum extrusion products driven by the global energy transition.

The company expects the project to deliver $160 million in economic benefits to Quebec while creating 40 new permanent jobs and supporting 770 existing jobs at the Alma plant.

Rio Tinto's Lac-Saint-Jean operations are powered by hydroelectricity and account for nearly half of the company's global aluminum output. The company owns an alumina refinery, four smelters and six hydropower plants in the area, as well as a rail network and one port.

In April 2021, Rio Tinto's Elysis LP joint venture with Alcoa Corp. agreed to install commercial-scale inert anode technology to decarbonize production at the Alma smelter.

S&P Global Commodity Insights produces content for distribution on S&P Capital IQ Pro.