SAGUENAY, QUE. — Rio Tinto has announced it will spend $1.4 billion to expand its AP60 aluminum smelter with low-carbon technology at its Complexe Jonquiere in Arvida, Que.
The total investment includes $150 million of financial support from the Quebec government. Rio Tinto will gradually close potrooms at the Arvida smelter on the same site as the firm continues its transition to low-carbon aluminum for use in transportation, construction, electrical and consumer goods, stated a release.
The investment will add 96 new AP60 pots, increasing capacity by approximately 160,000 metric tonnes of primary aluminum per year. Construction will run over two-and-a-half years, with commissioning of the new pots expected to start in the first half of 2026 and the smelter fully ramped up by the end of 2026.
This new capacity will offset the 170,000 tonnes of capacity lost through the gradual closure of potrooms at the Arvida smelter from 2024. In addition, Rio Tinto will add 30,000 tonnes of new capacity through the commissioning of the previously announced recycling facility at Arvida in the first quarter of 2025.
The project will generate up to 1,000 jobs during the peak of construction and approximately 100 permanent jobs will be maintained as a result of the expanded smelter.
Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm commented, “This investment is aligned with our strategy to decarbonize our value chains and grow in materials essential for the energy transition. This is the most significant investment in our aluminum business for more than a decade and it will further strengthen Rio Tinto’s high-quality and low-carbon offering to our customers as they also work to reduce their own carbon footprint.”
In addition to the Arvida project, Rio Tinto is working towards a deployment of ELYSIS zero carbon aluminum smelting technology at its Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean facilities.
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