Rio Tinto started construction on its C$240 million (US$178.5 million) investment to expand its billet casting capacity at its smelter in Alma, Quebec, Canada. This will enable the company to increase its capacity of low-carbon, high-value aluminum billets by 202,000 metric tonnes.
The existing casting center at Rio Tinto’s Alma plant will be expanded to accommodate new state-of-the-art equipment, including furnaces, a casting pit, coolers, handling, inspection, and sawing and packaging systems. This will allow the smelter to produce more aluminum billet from renewable hydroelectric power, thus making the company as a whole more agile and flexible in meeting the anticipated growing demand from North American extruders for a variety of high value-added products — primarily for the automotive and construction industries.
“This expansion of our low carbon billet casting capacity in Quebec will allow us to better meet our customers’ growing demand for high quality alloys and value-added products made with renewable hydroelectricity,” said Sébastien Ross, executive director of Rio Tinto Aluminium’s Atlantic operations. “We are pleased to have started construction this spring as planned and to be able to rely on the expertise of qualified employees, world-class Quebec equipment manufacturers and our partners to bring this project announced last year to fruition.”
Commissioning of the expanded casthouse is scheduled for the first half of 2025. Once completed, it is expected to generate an estimated economic impact of more than C$200 million (US$148.7 million) for Quebec, create approximately 40 new permanent jobs, and help support the 770 existing jobs at the Alma smelter.