Comalco
Encyclopedia
Rio Tinto Aluminium is now known as Rio Tinto Alcan
after Rio's takeover of Alcan
. It was the world's eighth largest aluminium
company. It mines and manufactures bauxite
, alumina and primary aluminium.
Rio Tinto Aluminium is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto Group
and provides about 20% of Australia's
total production of bauxite, 8% of its alumina and 24% of its primary aluminium.
In 2002, Rio Tinto Aluminium earned US$256 million for its shareholder Rio Tinto.
RTA owns the Weipa
Bauxite mine, Yarwun Alumina Refinery, and Bell Bay aluminium smelter
.
It also has interests (manages or joint-venture) in other aluminium related businesses:
Alcan
Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. is a Canadian company based in Montreal. It was created on November 15, 2007 as the result of the merger between Rio Tinto PLC's Canadian subsidiary, Rio Tinto Canada Holding Inc., and Canadian company Alcan Inc. On the same date, Alcan Inc. was renamed Rio Tinto Alcan Inc..Rio...
after Rio's takeover of Alcan
Alcan
Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. is a Canadian company based in Montreal. It was created on November 15, 2007 as the result of the merger between Rio Tinto PLC's Canadian subsidiary, Rio Tinto Canada Holding Inc., and Canadian company Alcan Inc. On the same date, Alcan Inc. was renamed Rio Tinto Alcan Inc..Rio...
. It was the world's eighth largest aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
company. It mines and manufactures bauxite
Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
, alumina and primary aluminium.
Rio Tinto Aluminium is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto Group
Rio Tinto Group
The Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the...
and provides about 20% of Australia's
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
total production of bauxite, 8% of its alumina and 24% of its primary aluminium.
In 2002, Rio Tinto Aluminium earned US$256 million for its shareholder Rio Tinto.
RTA owns the Weipa
Weipa, Queensland
Weipa is the largest town on the Gulf of Carpentaria coast of the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Weipa had a population of 2,830; the largest community on Cape York Peninsula. It exists because of the enormous bauxite deposits along the coast...
Bauxite mine, Yarwun Alumina Refinery, and Bell Bay aluminium smelter
Bell Bay aluminium smelter
The Bell Bay aluminium smelter is located on the Tamar River at Bell Bay, Tasmania, Australia. The smelter has a production capacity of 178,000 tonnes of aluminium per year.It is owned and operated by Rio Tinto Alcan.-History:...
.
It also has interests (manages or joint-venture) in other aluminium related businesses:
- Boyne Smelters LtdBoyne Island aluminium smelterThe Boyne Island Aluminium Smelter is located on Boyne Island,Queensland, Australia, approximately 20 km south of the port of Gladstone.The smelter has a production capacity of 545,000 tonnes of aluminium per year...
(aluminium smelter) - New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (Tiwai PointTiwai Pointthumb|[[Awarua Plain]] , Tiwai Point and [[Bluff, New Zealand|Bluff]] viewed from the [[International Space Station]] in 2008.Tiwai Point lies at the entrance to Bluff Harbour on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand...
aluminium smelter) - Queensland Alumina LimitedQueensland Alumina LimitedQueensland Alumina Limited is one of the largest alumina refineries by alumina production capacity in the world, located in Gladstone, Australia. Operating since 1967, the refinery has a capacity to produce 3.95 million tonnes of alumina a year....
(alumina refinery) - Gladstone Power Station (power station)
- Anglesey AluminiumAnglesey AluminiumAnglesey Aluminium Metal Ltd, shut down on 30 September 2009, was a joint venture between Rio Tinto Group and Kaiser Aluminium.Its aluminium smelter, located on the outskirts of Holyhead, was one of the largest employers in North Wales, with 540 staff members, and began to produce aluminium in 1971...
(aluminium smelter - closed September 2009) - Eurallumina SpA (alumina refinery)(Now sold)
Litigation
- Commonwealth Aluminium Corporation Ltd v Attorney-General of Queensland [1976] Qd R 231 (Comalco Case)