Rio Tinto cuts alumina output in Australia

Rio Tinto (NYSE, LSE, ASX: RIO) plans to scale back output at its Yarwun alumina refinery in Queensland by 40% starting in October 2026 to extend the plant’s operating life to 2035.The reduction amounts to about 1.2 million tonnes of alumina a year, though the company said Tuesday customer supply commitments will not be affected.“It is a difficult but necessary decision that preserves future options for the site and supports continued economic contribution,” Armando Torres, managing director of Rio Tinto Aluminium Pacific Operations, said in the release. “The scale of investment required is substantial.”High power, labour and capital costs continue to challenge alumina processing in Australia, while rising low-cost supply from Indonesia and China is pressuring margins. Prices are at less than half the spike to $800 per tonne last year and Rio’s plant cut is just 1% of the global alumina market of about 140 million tonnes, according to BMO Capital Markets.Asian supply“With China and other parts of Asia ramping up domestic capacity, alumina prices have been under consistent downward pressure through most of 2025,” BMO Capital Markets said in a note on Tuesday.“CRU’s Atlantic Basis Price index was assessed at $340 per tonne last week, close to its recent low of $334 per tonne in mid-October,” BMO’s analysts said.Rio’s cut is driven by tailings-storage constraints at the refinery in Gladstone, the miner said. Yarwun’s existing plant is expected to reach capacity by 2031 at current production rates. The cost of building a second tailings area isn’t viable in the current market, it said.Lower output gives Rio Tinto an additional four years to keep the refinery running while it evaluates alternative technical solutions. It’s already studied how to improve the site engineering for several years, it added, but found the size and complexity required financially daunting.180 jobsRio Tinto said the reduction at Yarwun will not affect its bauxite mines or aluminium smelters, which will continue operating at full capacity. About 180 of the refinery’s 725 jobs are expected to be impacted once the transition begins.The company plans to use the time created by the output reduction to test a range of tailings-management options aimed at squeezing more life out of the existing storage footprint.This includes adjusting deposition patterns, improving compaction and drying efficiencies, and evaluating whether enhanced residue stacking technologies or alternative waste-handling configurations could safely increase containment capacity.The trials are intended to validate technically and environmentally acceptable pathways that could support the refinery beyond 2035 if market conditions justify further investment.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com