Rio Tinto signs deal to become sole owner of New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (updated)

SUMITOMO CHEMICAL

30/05/2024 23:30

(Updates with details and background throughout)
       May 31 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto  RIO.AX  said on Friday it
entered an agreement buy Sumitomo Chemical Co's  4005.T  20.64%
stake in New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) to get full
control of the country's only aluminum smelter.
    NZAS is a joint venture between Rio, which held 79.36% stake
and Japan's Sumitomo Chemical, which owned the rest. It operates
the Tiwai aluminium smelter in South Island of New Zealand.
    Separately, NZAS has concluded deals with energy generators
Meridian Energy  MEL.NZ , Contact Energy  CEN.NZ  and Mercury NZ
 MCY.NZ  to secure energy supply for at least next 20 years.
    The deals include 20-year demand response agreements with
Meridian and Contact, under which NZAS may be requested to
reduce electricity consumption by up to 185 megawatts, to ensure
secure supply to homes and businesses in New Zealand.
    In 2020, the miner had announced it would close NZAS due to
high costs and a challenging market, but reached an agreement
with Meridian Energy in 2021 to allow the smelter to continue
operations until December 2024.
    Rio Tinto has also signed a deal to buy Sumitomo Chemical's
2.46% interest in Boyne Smelters, which owns and operates the
Boyne Island aluminium smelter in Gladstone, Australia. It did
not reveal the value of the deal.
    

 (Reporting by Ayushman Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun
Koyyur)
 ((Ayushman.Ojha@thomsonreuters.com;))