Rio Tinto Aluminium (previously known as Comalco) is now known as
Rio Tinto Alcan
Rio Tinto Alcan is a Canada-based mining company. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, it is a subsidiary of global mining conglomerate Rio Tinto. It was created on 15 November 2007 as the result of the merger between Rio Tinto's Canadian subsi ...
after Rio's takeover of
Alcan
Alcan was a Canadian mining company and aluminum manufacturer. It was founded in 1902 as the Northern Aluminum Company, renamed Aluminum Company of Canada in 1925, and Alcan Aluminum in 1966. It took the name Alcan Incorporated in 2001. During ...
. It was the world's eighth largest
aluminium
Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
company. It mines and manufactures
bauxite
Bauxite () is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...
,
alumina
Aluminium oxide (or aluminium(III) oxide) is a chemical compound of aluminium and oxygen with the chemical formula . It is the most commonly occurring of several aluminium oxides, and specifically identified as aluminium oxide. It is commonly ...
and primary aluminium.
Rio Tinto Aluminium is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Rio Tinto Group
Rio Tinto Group is a British-Australian multinational company that is the world's second largest metals and mining corporation (behind BHP). It was founded in 1873 when a group of investors purchased a mine complex on the RÃo Tinto, in Hu ...
and provides about 20% of
Australia's
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
total production of bauxite, 8% of its alumina and 24% of its primary aluminium.
In 2002, Rio Tinto Aluminium earned
US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
256 million for its shareholder Rio Tinto.
In 2006 Rio Tinto Aluminium was the largest receiver of budgetary assistance from the Australian government, Rio Tinto Aluminium had received over $287 million in assistance from Australian tax dollars.
RTA owns the
Weipa bauxite mine,
Yarwun
Yarwun is a rural town and coastal locality in the Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Yarwun had a population of 89 people.
Geography
The North Coast railway line enters the locality from the south-west ( Bye ...
Alumina Refinery, and
Bell Bay aluminium smelter
The Bell Bay aluminium smelter is located on the Tamar River at Bell Bay, Tasmania, Australia. The smelter has a production capacity of 178,000 tonnes of aluminium per year.
It is owned and operated by Pacific Aluminium, a wholly owned subsidiary ...
.
It also has interests (manages or joint-venture) in other aluminium related businesses:
*
Boyne Smelters Ltd (aluminium smelter)
*
New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Limited (
Tiwai Point aluminium smelter)
*
Queensland Alumina Limited (alumina refinery)
*
Gladstone Power Station (power station)
*
Anglesey Aluminium
Anglesey Aluminium Metal Ltd. was a joint venture between Rio Tinto and Kaiser Aluminum. Its aluminium smelter, located on the outskirts of Holyhead, was one of the largest employers in North Wales, with 540 staff members, and began to produce ...
(aluminium smelter – closed September 2009)
* Eurallumina SpA (alumina refinery)(Now sold)
Weipa railway fleet
In January 1972, Comalco (as the company was then known) ordered two GT26C locomotives to the same design as the
Western Australian Government Railways L class (albeit without dynamic brakes), numbered 1.001 and 1.002. A switcher was also imported from Canada, numbered 1.003. In 1994, 1.002 was sold to
Westrail
Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the state owned operator of railways in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the state government, it was renamed a number of times to reflect extra respon ...
and renumbered L276, and would later go on to have dynamic brakes retrofitted, also being renumbered LZ3120. The railway also acquired a prototype JT42C,
GML10, from
BHP
BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria.
As of 2024, BHP was the worldâ ...
, which was renumbered R1004 (1.001 was also renumbered R1001). In 2009, both R1001 and R1004 were sold to railways on the East Coast of Australia (1001 to
El Zorro enumbered L277and 1004 to
Qube
Qube (stylized QUBE) was an experimental two-way, multi-programmed cable television system that played a significant role in the history of American interactive television. It was launched in Columbus, Ohio, on December 1, 1977. Highly publicized ...
everted to its original GML10 designation, and were replaced by two production-model JT42Cs, R1005 and R1006. 1.003 was scrapped in 2000 after years of disuse.
[Forgotten Railway of Queensland: Comalco Rail Operations Weipa '']Motive Power
''Motive Power'' is a bi-monthly railway related magazine that focuses on diesel locomotives in Australia. The first issue was published on 23 August 1998. Its headquarters is in Sydney. The content includes photographs of locomotives & trains, ...
'' issue 62 February 2009 page 74
R1006 was withdrawn and scrapped following a collision in September 2019.
Litigation
* Commonwealth Aluminium Corporation Ltd v Attorney-General of Queensland
976
Year 976 ( CMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* January 10 – Emperor John I Tzimiskes dies at Constantinople, after returning from a second campaign against ...
Qd R 231 (Comalco Case)
See also
*
List of alumina refineries
This is a list of alumina Refining (metallurgy), refineries in the world. The list is incomplete and missing some data.
Smelter-grade alumina refineries
Specialty alumina plants
See also
*List of aluminium smelters
References
Sources ...
References
External links
Comalco web siteAP Technology web site
Aluminium companies of Australia
Mining companies of Australia
Mining companies of Guinea
{{Australia-company-stub