page_title: Rio Tinto (corporation)
section_title: Aluminium
hierarchical_section_title: Rio Tinto (corporation) / Operations / Aluminium
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Bauxit English: Bauxite Español: Bauxita pulida
context_page_description: Rio Tinto Group is an Anglo-Australian multinational and the world's second largest metals and mining corporation, behind BHP, producing iron ore, copper, diamonds, gold and uranium. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto, in Huelva, Spain, from the Spanish government. Since then, the company has grown through a long series of mergers and acquisitions to place itself among the world leaders in the production of many commodities, including aluminium, iron ore, copper, uranium, and diamonds. Although primarily focused on extraction of minerals, Rio Tinto also has significant operations in refining, particularly for refining bauxite and iron ore. Rio Tinto has joint head offices in London and Melbourne.
  Rio Tinto is a dual-listed company traded on both the London Stock Exchange, where it is a component of the FTSE 100 Index, and the Australian Securities Exchange, where it is a component of the S&P/ASX 200 index. Additionally, American Depositary Shares of Rio Tinto's British branch are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, giving it listings on a total of 3 major stock exchanges.
context_section_description: Rio Tinto consolidated its aluminium-related businesses into its aluminium product group (originally named Rio Tinto Alcan), formed in late 2007, when Rio Tinto purchased the Canadian company Alcan for $38.1 billion. Combined with Rio Tinto's existing aluminium-related assets, the new aluminium division vaulted to the world number-one producer of bauxite, alumina, and aluminium.  Aluminium division kept key leadership from Alcan, and the company's headquarters remain in Montreal.
  Rio Tinto divides its Aluminium operations into three main areas – bauxite, alumina and primary metal. The Bauxite and Alumina unit mines raw bauxite from locations in Australia, Brazil, and Africa. The unit then refines the bauxite into alumina at refineries located in Australia, Brazil, Canada, and France. The Primary Metal business unit's operations consist of smelting aluminium from alumina, with smelters located in 11 countries around the world.  The Primary Metal group also operates several power plants to support the energy-intensive smelting process.
  The aluminium division has interests in seven bauxite mines and deposits, six alumina refineries and six speciality alumina plants, 26 aluminium smelters, 13 power plants, and 120 facilities for the manufacture of speciality products. The acquisition of Alcan operations in 2007 substantially increased Rio Tinto's asset base, revenues, and profits: in 2008, 41% of company revenues and 10% of underlying earnings were attributable to the aluminium division.
caption: Rio Tinto Alcan is the world's leading producer of bauxite (shown here with a US cent for scale).
exif: {}