Rio Tinto is planning to divest its 13 aluminium assets in different countries to allow Rio Tinto Alcan to concentrate on its strategy to grow the value of its tier one assets and improve the group’s financial performance.
The company will transfer its interests in six Australian and New Zealand assets into a new business unit called Pacific Aluminium.
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The assets include Gove bauxite mine and alumina refinery, Boyne smelters, Gladstone power station, the Tomago and Bell Bay smelters in Australia and New Zealand aluminium smelters.
The remaining seven assets, which will be managed by Rio Tinto Alcan while it further investigates divestment options, include three specialty alumina plants and the Gardanne refinery in France and Germany.
The assets also include Sebree smelter in the US, and Lynemouth smelter and associated power station in the UK.
Rio Tinto Alcan CEO Jacynthe Cote said that streamlining the product group will allow the firm to concentrate its efforts even more on driving performance improvements and investing in growth.
