Adds particulars
Adds particulars
MELBOURNE, March 31 (Reuters) – Rio Tinto Ltd RIO.AX, RIO.L wsick shut one of many aluminium manufacturing strains at its smelter in Tiwai, New Zealand, to adjust to authorities restrictions to include the coronavirus, its New Zealand’s Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) enterprise mentioned on Tuesday.
New Zealand is in a four-week lockdown to restrict the unfold of the coronavirus that has contaminated greater than 750,000 individuals globally.
The corporate will shut the pot line Four on the plant and affected employees will likely be reallocated to different areas of operations, Rio Tinto Aluminium New Zealand mentioned.Rio Tinto put the loss-making smelter, which produces 340,000 tonnes of aluminium per 12 months, beneath assessment in October.
“Our focus is on supporting our staff in a time of uncertainty and operating a protected and environment friendly operation to satisfy our obligations with clients and suppliers who’re additionally challenged at the moment,” NZAS Chief Govt Stewart Hamilton mentioned in an announcement.
NZAS plans to work with New Zealand energy supplier Meridian Vitality Ltd MEL.NZ to scale back the 50 megawatts of electrical energy that helps pot line 4.
Pot strains include electrolytic cells the place alumina is heated to grow to be aluminium. The Tiwai smelter makes use of hydropower making it among the many cleanest aluminium crops on the earth.
NZAS will work on winding down the pot line this week, and reallocate 35 workers to its three different manufacturing strains, it mentioned.
NZAS is a three way partnership of Rio Tinto, with 79.36%, and Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical Co 4005.T, with 20.64%.
The smelter made a lack of $46 million after revenue tax and excluding distinctive gadgets within the final monetary 12 months in comparison with an underlying revenue after revenue tax of $21.6 million within the prior 12 months.
Rio Tinto has mentioned that it anticipated to announce the findings of the assessment by the top of the primary quarter of 2020. A spokesman advised Reuters on Tuesday nonetheless {that a} determination had not but been made on the plant’s future.
(Reporting by Sonali Paul and Melanie Burton in Melbourne; Extra reporting by Bangalore bureau; Enhancing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Christian Schmollinger)
(([email protected] Twitter: @MelanieMetals; +613 9286 1421; Reuters Messaging: [email protected]))
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