{"id":162103,"date":"2025-12-01T04:04:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T04:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/162103\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T04:04:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T04:04:09","slug":"rio-tinto-to-spend-50m-on-toxic-waste-plant-at-tiwai-point-smelter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/162103\/","title":{"rendered":"Rio Tinto to spend $50m on toxic waste plant at Tiwai Point smelter"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u201cOur new facility at Tiwai Point means this processing will now take place in New Zealand, reducing the need for this processing to happen overseas and forming a key part of the long-term remediation plan for the Tiwai site,\u201d Rio Tinto-NZAS acting general manager Matt Black said.<\/p>\n
Black said that SCL previously stored in the encapsulated pad would be progressively excavated, processed on-site and exported for reuse.<\/p>\n
The project will create 20 jobs during construction and six during operations.<\/p>\n
All consents for the facility have been received and construction is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2026.<\/p>\n
Once operational, the plant will be run by Regain Services, which also operates a similar facility at the Tomago smelter in New South Wales.<\/p>\n
\u201cProcessing SCL on site is a milestone in delivering on the remediation commitments we have made to Ng\u0101i Tahu and our community,\u201d Black said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe initiative builds on the remediation plan co-designed with Ng\u0101i Tahu, guiding how legacy materials at the Tiwai site are removed, monitored and recycled, and how the whenua [land] is restored over time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The company says Tiwai is one of the world\u2019s lowest-carbon aluminium manufacturers.<\/p>\n
Rio Tinto managing director of Pacific operations, Armando Torres, said the investment underscored the company\u2019s commitment to the remediation programme.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuilding a dedicated processing facility at the smelter is another positive step forward in the remediation of the Tiwai site and reflects our shared commitment to working in partnership to protect our environment for future generations,\u201d Te R\u016bnanga o Ng\u0101i Tahu group head of strategy and environment Jacqui Caine said.<\/p>\n
The remediation programme has already seen more than 36,000 tonnes of SCL exported for reuse since 2024, alongside major progress in returning ouvea premix and processing historical dross.<\/p>\n
SCL is the carbon and refractory material that lines the inside of aluminium reduction cells and must be periodically replaced during the smelting process.<\/p>\n
When removed, it becomes a regulated byproduct because it can contain carbon, fluorides and other compounds that require specialist handling.<\/p>\n
The aluminium smelter at Tiwai is 100% owned by Rio Tinto.<\/p>\n
A previous version of this article said SCL had been stored at Mataura. This is not correct. It was ouvea premix (aluminium dross) that was stored there by the Taha company at Mataura. SCL has always been stored onsite at Tiwai.<\/p>\n
Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets, the primary sector and energy. He joined the Herald in 2011.<\/p>\n