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Rio Tinto Expands Its Sustainability Strategy with New Recycling Capabilities

Employees in orange vests stand in front of baled aluminum scrap.
Rio Tinto formed a partnership with Giampaolo Group, making Matalco a 50/50 joint venture.

Rio Tinto is a global, vertically integrated aluminum manufacturer, with bauxite mines, alumina refineries, and smelters, enabling the company to manage the entire value chain and ensure the efficient production of its aluminum products. Sustainability is a key aspect of Rio Tinto’s strategy, and the company has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50% by 2030 and to becoming net zero by 2050. Through the use of hydroelectricity, the company’s aluminum smelters are already among the lowest carbon producers, emitting five times less GHGs than the worldwide industry average per tonne of aluminum produced.

“We have reduced GHG emissions from our Canadian smelters by 50% since 1990, while increasing our production by 50%,” said Sébastien Ross, managing director, Atlantic Operations, Rio Tinto Aluminium. “Sustainability considerations are deeply embedded in the way we run our business. We have put climate change and the low-carbon transition at the heart of our business strategy. We are decarbonizing our assets, helping our customers decarbonize by developing new products and technologies, and growing in materials essential for the energy transition.”

As part of its primary aluminum portfolio, Rio Tinto continuously works to lower the carbon impact of its production capabilities. In June 2023, the company announced plans to invest $1.1 billion to expand the use of its AP60 technology at its Arvida aluminum smelter in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec. The company also announced progress on Elysis™, its joint technology venture with Alcoa, which is working to launch its first industrial-scale demonstration plant at the Arvida smelter complex. The breakthrough Elysis inert anode technology is said to eliminate all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the traditional smelting process, producing oxygen as a byproduct.

In recent years, Rio Tinto has further expanded its sustainability strategy with the introduction of recycled aluminum products alongside the company’s low-carbon primary aluminum production. This includes new partnerships and investments to set up closed-loop recycling systems, as well as the installation of in-house post-consumer scrap recycling capacity.

Expanding Into Recycling

For years, Rio Tinto has been actively addressing waste streams and byproducts from its operations in order to ensure the sustainability of its primary aluminum production processes. For example, the company has an ongoing partnership with Scepter, which was renewed in 2018, that allowed for the collection and processing of dross to recover aluminum. “Our sustainability strategy also extends to reducing, reusing and recycling byproducts from our aluminum production to the largest extent possible,” noted Ross. “We already recover more than 85% of our byproducts in Québec (excluding bauxite residues), and our dedicated teams continue to innovate to find new ways to valorize byproducts from our operations.”

In recent years, Rio Tinto has explored different strategies to bring more recycled-content aluminum to market through various technology investments and partnerships. This includes introducing closed-loop recycling systems through its partnership with Shawinigan Aluminium Inc. (SAI) for aluminum billet customers and the installation of a new remelt furnace at its Laterrière smelter in Quebec for its rolling slab customers. In addition, Rio Tinto is investing in the installation of a new recycling center at its Arvida smelter and has formed the Matalco joint venture with Giampaolo Group.

“Expanding our range of low-carbon metal solutions to support our customers and end-users in achieving their decarbonization goals is at the core of our commercial strategy. We are interested in growth opportunities that generate shareholder value and recycling is becoming more important within the mining and metals industry,” explained Ross. “U.S. demand for recycled aluminum is forecast to increase by more than 70% from 2022 to 2032, driven by the transportation, construction, and packaging sectors. Over the same period, global recycled aluminum consumption is forecast to grow by more than 60%.”

Closed-Loop Recycling

Partnership with Shawinigan

Rio Tinto partnered with SAI in 2020 to launch its first closed-loop recycling solution for its North American billet customers. The agreement was made possible due to SAI’s US$10 million investment to build a new aluminum recycling center adjacent to its existing casthouse in Quebec, Canada. Carried out in collaboration with Rio Tinto, the new recycling center was commissioned in mid-2021. The project added the capacity to produce 30,000 tonnes of aluminum billet per year, with more than 50% of its production being recycled content. In addition, it provided the facility with additional operational flexibility, increasing its product range and reducing production cycle times. Through its partnership with Rio Tinto, SAI provides its recycling services from the new plant, enabling Rio Tinto to recycle clean process scrap from its manufacturing operations, as well as from other aluminum manufacturers, in order to meet customer demand for products made with recycled aluminum.

New Recycling Furnace at Laterrière

Launched in 1989, the Laterrière smelter currently produces around 250,000 tonnes of primary aluminum per year and casts around 285,000 tonnes of rolling ingot per year for the automotive and packaging industries. In order to better serve its customers in these markets, the company initiated a $8.4 million project to install a new remelt furnace at the site (Figure 1), with the aim of providing a new sustainable, closed-loop supply solution combining low-carbon and recycled aluminum.

Figure 1. The new GNA remelt furnace installed at the Laterrière facility allows for closed-loop recycling of process scrap.
Figure 1. The new GNA remelt furnace installed at the Laterrière facility allows for closed-loop recycling of process scrap.

Commissioned in February 2022, the new furnace supplied by GNA alutech features high-efficiency burners to minimize its carbon footprint. In addition, Dynamic Concept designed, manufactured, and installed an innovative siphonic metal transfer system to deliver the molten metal to the casting area. Process scrap from Rio Tinto’s operations and from its rolling ingot customers is blended together with low-carbon primary metal to produce the same products the smelter already produced. The new remelt furnace has an initial capacity to produce 22,000 tonnes of high quality rolling ingot per year. Additional capacity can be added as needed in response to industry demand. The project also created seven new jobs.

Post-Consumer Recycling Coming to Arvida

The Arvida facility is currently going through a transition. Rio Tinto is in the process of shutting down the operation of the six existing potrooms, which will be replaced with 96 new pots utilizing state-of-the-art AP60 electrolysis technology. In addition, the company’s US$29 million (C$35 million) investment to build a new aluminum recycling facility at Arvida is contributing to this capacity transition (Figure 2). The investment will also make Rio Tinto the first primary aluminum producer in North America to integrate recycled post-consumer aluminum scrap into primary aluminum alloys.

Figure 2. Rio Tinto announces the new Arvida recycling center investment (L-R): Michel Potvin, councillor, Ville de Saguenay; Jean-François Leblanc, operation manager, Arvida-AP60 and Strathcona; Sébastien Ross, managing director, Atlantic Operations, Rio Tinto Aluminium; Andrée Laforest, minister of Municipal Affairs and for the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region; and Donat Pearson, president, Syndicat national des employés de l’aluminium d’Arvida.
Figure 2. Rio Tinto announces the new Arvida recycling center investment (L-R): Michel Potvin, councillor, Ville de Saguenay; Jean-François Leblanc, operation manager, Arvida-AP60 and Strathcona; Sébastien Ross, managing director, Atlantic Operations, Rio Tinto Aluminium; Andrée Laforest, minister of Municipal Affairs and for the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region; and Donat Pearson, president, Syndicat national des employés de l’aluminium d’Arvida.

An existing building within the Arvida complex will be repurposed for the new recycling center, which will house a remelting furnace equipped with regenerative burners and an automated scrap loading system. Utilizing clean aluminum scrap sourced locally from used vehicles and construction materials, the center will have an initial capacity of 30,000 tons per year, serving the automotive, packaging, and construction markets. Construction on the new recycling center will begin in the coming months, with operation to start by the end of 2025. The project is expected to create around ten new permanent jobs at the Arvida Plant.

“Investing in new recycling facilities at Arvida is another step in our strategy to expand our offering of low-carbon aluminum products and integrate the circular economy into our value chain,” said Ross. “This will enable us to continue to meet our customers’ growing demand for responsible, traceable products.”

Matalco Joint Venture

At the end of 2023, Rio Tinto completed the acquisition of a 50% share of Matalco from Giampaolo Group for $700 million (subject to usual closing adjustments), transforming Matalco into a joint venture between the two companies. This combines the strengths of North America’s largest primary and secondary aluminum producers to meet the growing demand from manufacturers for low carbon materials.

Established in 2005, Matalco is a leading producer of recycled aluminum billet and slab in 3xxx, 5xxx, 6xxx, and 7xxx series alloys. Headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, the company has a total of seven remelting and casting facilities, including one in Canada and six across the U.S., and operates an extensive logistics network. Over the last five years, Matalco more than doubled its production capacity and it now has the ability to produce around 900,000 tonnes of recycled aluminum billet and slab per year, which is delivered to extrusion, forging, and rolled products producers. Matalco sources post-consumer scrap from Triple M Metal (Figure 3), also part of the Giampaolo Group, and primary aluminum from Rio Tinto, making them a natural fit.

scrapped automotive wheel rims
Figure 3. Matalco recycles significant volumes of post-consumer scrap, such as these automotive wheel rims.

“Our Matalco joint venture allows us to unlock recycled aluminum at a much faster pace than we can ever achieve on our own,” noted Ross. “Our joint venture with Giampaolo Group allows us to manufacture and market recycled aluminum products at scale. It immediately adds approximately 45% capacity to Rio Tinto’s North American aluminum marketing portfolio, and almost doubles our portfolio of value-added products, allowing us to meet demand at a much faster rate. As a result, we are now in a uniquely advantageous position to offer our customers a fuller suite of low carbon products for their needs.”

Under the new agreement, Matalco and its seven North American operations will continue to be led by its existing leadership. The company will also continue to provide closed-loop solutions to transform customers’ scrap into high-quality aluminum slab and billet. Currently, Rio Tinto is working on completing the integration of Matalco into its system. Following this transition period, Rio Tinto will be responsible for sales and marketing of Matalco products and will work to leverage synergies within the joint venture with Rio Tinto’s operations and expertise.

“Recycling presents unique growth and commercial opportunities, and this is especially so for a company like ours, who now has the downstream processing capabilities within our Matalco joint venture,” said Ross. “These investments expand Rio Tinto’s value-added product portfolio, offering customers a full suite of aluminum products, including low-carbon primary aluminum made with hydropower and a diverse portfolio of recycled aluminum solutions.”


Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the August 2024 issue of Light Metal Age. To receive the current issue, please subscribe.

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