[miningmx.com] — RIO Tinto may sell some aluminium smelters and refineries with limited growth potential, and is considering a major capital investment at its Alcan unit, chief financial officer Guy Elliott told The Australian newspaper.
“We have to look critically at some of the assets – smaller, older assets that exist in the portfolio that maybe don’t have much upside in terms of expandibility or extension of life,” The Australian quoted Elliott as saying in a report published on Monday.
He did not put a value on the assets for sale but said they were all generating cash.
“We’d like to sell them at good prices if we do sell them – that means we need the climate to improve a little bit.”
Rio Tinto has completed divestments in excess of $10bn since the beginning of 2008, including sales of $3.6bn of chiefly Alcan assets in 2010.
Elliott added Alcan’s first substantial capital spending since being taken over by Rio Tinto for $38bn in 2007 was “on the horizon”.
The paper added that the two most likely options for capital projects are the $2bn-plus expansion of the Kitimat smelter in British Columbia and the AP5X technology pilot plant planned for Quebec.
