Why is Tiwai smelter closing?
Why is Tiwai smelter closing?
Rio Tinto had said in July last year that it would shut the smelter by August 2021 after a strategic review showed the business was no longer viable due to high energy costs and a challenging industry outlook.
Is tiwai going to close?
Stakeholders in the electricity sector and across Southland are celebrating the extension of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter’s lease on life. The smelter, which was slated to close from the end of August, will now remain open until December 31, 2024.
What has been proposed for Southlands Tiwai Point smelter when it closes?
Hydrogen plant
As the closure of Bluff’s Tiwai Point aluminium smelter looms, Contact Energy and Meridian Energy are looking for partners to develop what they say could be the world’s largest green hydrogen plant.
How much power does tiwai use?
The plant uses about 15,000 MWh of electricity per day – the annual consumption of a thousand average households. It earns about $1.5 billion per year, mostly from sales in Japan and other parts of Asia. The smelter is expected to cease production in 2024.
What will happen to Tiwai Point?
The threatened Tiwai Point aluminium smelter will keep operating through to the end of December 2024, in a new deal just announced to the New Zealand stock exchange. Mining conglomerate Rio Tinto announced last year it was closing Tiwai due to high energy and transmission costs.
Why is Rio Tinto closing?
LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Rio Tinto has declared force majeure on customer contracts at Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) in South Africa due to an escalation in the security situation at the operations. This has led to the decision to cease operations until the safety and security position improves.
Who owns tiwai land?
The Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter is an aluminium smelter owned by Rio Tinto Group (79.36%) and the Sumitomo Group (20.64%), via a joint venture called New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) Limited.
What sort of agreement does NZAS have for electricity supply now?
In January 2021 Rio Tinto secured an electricity arrangement to enable NZAS to continue operating until December 2024. This extension provides certainty to employees, the local community, and customers while providing more time for all stakeholders to plan for the future.
What has been proposed in Southlands?
As the closure of Bluff’s Tiwai Point aluminium smelter looms, Contact Energy and Meridian Energy are looking for partners to develop what they say could be the world’s largest green hydrogen plant.
How much electricity does an aluminium smelter use?
The smelting of aluminium is the most energy-intensive stage of aluminium production, with each tonne of aluminium requiring around 15 MWh of electricity.
How much power does an aluminium smelter use?
According to Alcoa, the world’s largest producer of aluminium, the best smelters use about 13 kilowatt hours (46.8 megajoules) of electrical energy to produce one kilogram of aluminium; the worldwide average is closer to 15 kWh/kg (54 MJ/kg).
What does Tiwai Point Produce?
The smelter produces the world’s purest aluminium – 99.98 percent pure – and is one of two smelters in the world producing ultrahigh purity aluminium. In 2011 the smelter produced 354,030 saleable tonnes of aluminium, which was its highest ever output at the time. In 2015, it produced 335,290 tonnes.