Rio Tinto’s aluminium operations in Kitimat will now play a key role in a new partnership aimed at expanding the supply of low-carbon aluminium products across North America.
Rio Tinto announced Monday that the company has signed a long-term agreement with RevoCast Aluminum Billets Ltd., which opened its casting plant in Langley last year.
Under the agreement, Rio Tinto will exclusively market billet produced at the Langley facility. The billet will consist of low-carbon primary aluminium from Rio Tinto’s Kitimat facilities and recycled aluminium supplied by RevoCast.
The companies state that the collaboration will allow producers to acquire billet made with a lower carbon footprint more regionally. Additionally, the region’s supply chain will be strengthened and more recycled aluminium can be used in British Columbia.
Matt Schicke, Rio Tinto’s vice-president of aluminium sales and marketing, said this collaboration allows the companies to utilize their strengths to offer a more regional source of lower-carbon-footprint aluminium.
“By combining Rio Tinto’s low-carbon aluminium production in British Columbia with RevoCast’s recycling and casting capabilities, we can provide North American manufacturers with a reliable supply of high-quality billet produced closer to their operations,” Schicke said.
“This partnership strengthens our ability to help customers increase the recycled and low-carbon content of their products and build more resilient value chains.”
RevoCast President and CEO Thomas Martini said the agreement represents an important step for the company and will expand access to billet containing recycled and low-carbon aluminium.
“Our partnership with Rio Tinto marks an important milestone for RevoCast, bringing together our advanced remelting capabilities with Rio Tinto’s global expertise, market knowledge and reach,” Martini said.
“Together, we are expanding access to reliable, high-quality, low-carbon billet with recycled content for extrusion customers across North America, while helping strengthen the region’s aluminium supply chain.”
RevoCast’s Langley facility was commissioned in August and has an annual production capacity of more than 80,000 tonnes of 6xxx-series aluminium billet.
The billet will be used in extrusion applications for construction, transportation, industrial products and consumer goods.
The facility uses recycled aluminium and advanced remelting technology designed to maximize energy efficiency and reduce emissions.
