Rio Tinto eyeing smelter closures unless they pay their way

Fri, 10 Aug 2012

By Pattrick Smellie Aug. 10 (BusinessDesk) - Rio Tinto's attempt to renegotiate New Zealand's largest electricity contract, for its aluminium smelter at Bluff, comes as the company's chief executive warns of "difficult decisions" ahead if its older smelters cannot be made commercially viable. Rio, the world's third-largest mining company, reported a 34 percent drop in profits to US$5.2 billion for the six months to June 30 on Tuesday, dragged down in particular by the sustained collapse in world aluminium prices. The same day, NZDX bond iss...

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