Rio Tinto invests $1.9 billion to expand Australian bauxite operations, production to begin in 2029

Rio Tinto (RIO.US) Group will invest $1.9 billion to expand its bauxite mining operations in northern Australia and develop a large new mine to replace the output from existing resources that are gradually being depleted. In a statement released Friday, Rio Tinto said the Kangwinan bauxite project will succeed the output from the Andoom and Gove mines in the region. The project is scheduled to begin production in 2029, at which point Rio Tinto’s annual production capacity in northern Queensland will increase from 38 million tons to 44 million tons. The bauxite mined by Rio Tinto is refined into alumina and then sent to smelters to be processed into aluminum metal. Jérôme Pécresse, Chief Executive of Rio Tinto Aluminium and Lithium, stated in the release that the project “demonstrates Rio Tinto’s long-term commitment to the bauxite business.”