Rio Tinto CEO was pushed
One of the biggest jobs in world mining is up for grabs after relations between Rio Tinto chairman Dominic Barton and chief executive Jakob Stausholm strained to the point where the Danish executive reluctantly stepped down at talks in London this week.
Stausholm spent Friday clearing his mind on a long-distance run in Spain as Rio investors praised his term as CEO and urged the mining giant to avoid parachuting a 'big personality' into the executive suite.
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News.com.au
5 hours ago
- News.com.au
Rio Tinto Tomago aluminium smelter in NSW reportedly close to collapse
Rio Tinto's massive Tomago aluminium smelter in NSW is reportedly close to collapse. The facility, situated in Tomago about 13km west of Newcastle, employs some 1000 workers directly, but a stoppage would hit another 5000 indirect workers across the Hunter Valley. Mining giant Rio Tinto holds a 51.6 per cent interest in the smelter, which produces about 590,000 tonnes of aluminium each year, or about 37 per cent of Australia's total production. Multiple reports suggest the company is in emergency talks with state and federal governments for a bailout. NewsWire has contacted NSW energy minister Penny Sharpe, federal energy minister Chris Bowen and the Australian Workers' Union for confirmation of the discussions. Rio Tinto declined to comment on Tuesday. The AFR first reported on the talks on Friday, citing high energy costs for the possible shutdown. Tomago is currently powered by AGL Energy's Bayswater coal fired power station, but is pivoting to renewable energy. In January, the federal government announced a $2bn production credit for aluminium businesses to transition their smelters to green energy, which Rio heralded as a vote of confidence in domestic manufacturing. 'As traditional energy sources for heavy industry become increasingly uncompetitive, today's announcement is a critical piece in helping future-proof the industry,' Rio Tinto chief executive for Australia Kellie Parker said. 'Such support is crucial for sustaining and growing regional economies. 'As global industrial customers and consumers increasingly focus on low-carbon products, this support signals Australia's potential to be a major supplier of the aluminium needed for the global energy transition.' But negotiations over a new energy contract have troubled the smelter's operations for months. The current contract with AGL is due to expire in 2028. 2GB's Ben Fordham, speaking on Tuesday, said the situation was 'not good'. 'We've got the materials, we've got the workers, we've got the smelters, but what we don't have is a working energy system,' he said. 'If it shuts, we're not just losing a smelter, we're risking 6000 jobs.' Some 90 per cent of Tomago aluminium is exported to Asia.
Sky News AU
5 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Chris Bowen's energy revolution pushing Australia's heavy industry to the brink with Tomago Aluminium on the verge of collapse
Australia's largest aluminium smelter is on the brink of collapse under the weight of soaring power prices as Energy Minister Chris Bowen continues with his renewables revolution. A report in the Australian Financial Review emerged on Friday that said Rio Tinto-owned Tomago, Australia biggest aluminium producer, is seeking billions of dollars in public funds to avert collapse as energy costs plague local industry. The producer is located north of Newcastle, uses about 10 per cent of NSW's power supply and makes about 37 per cent of Australia's primary aluminium. The collapse of the massive company could lead to more than 1,000 people losing their jobs, while 5,000 indirect workers could suffer. Tomago executives have reportedly asked the NSW and federal governments for assistance amid crippling power prices and as cost-effective and consistent renewables remain largely unavailable. The damning report sparked concern from the Centre for Independent Studies' senior policy analyst Zoe Hilton who said the government's energy policy was crippling the aluminium sector. 'With power prices in Australia rising higher and higher, it simply doesn't make financial sense to run a smelter here,' Ms Hilton told 'Tomago's current predicament is a direct result of state and federal government plans to shift our grid to mostly intermittent energy sources.' Mr Bowen and Labor have vowed to make the nation a 'renewable energy superpower' with an energy mix of 82 per cent renewables by 2030 and green energy driving local manufacturing. The Albanese government is looking to boost this through production tax credits for leading Australian aluminium smelters, including Tomago, and give $2 billion back to help with the energy transition. A federal government source told the AFR it was involved in discussions with Tomago over the details of the tax credit design as it looks to alleviate the impacts of soaring power costs. Rio Tinto's chief executive Jakob Stausholm flagged concerns about the producer's electricity costs earlier this year where he warned power price contracts beyond 2028 would render Tomago unviable. Ms Hilton said this should come as a brutal warning for the government as it strives to dramatically alter the nation's energy mix. 'The federal government has refused to acknowledge that its plan to make our grid run off 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030 is making energy unaffordable for industrial users, not to mention residential and small business consumers,' Ms Hilton said. 'We are following in the footsteps of Germany, which gets almost half of its power from wind and solar. 'Around 40 per cent of German industrial companies are now considering partly or fully relocating operations abroad due to a lack of affordable and reliable energy. Australia has only just reached over 30 per cent wind and solar. 'We don't have European neighbours with nuclear plants from which to import reliable power as Germany does, so our industries will feel the pain of expensive, unreliable power much earlier in the renewables buildout.' Shadow energy minister Dan Tehan said Labor's ambitious renewables plan could result in job losses at Tomago. 'Spare a thought for the workers at Tomago worried about losing their job because high energy prices, as a result of Labor's obsession with renewable energy, is threatening their livelihood,' Mr Tehan told 'These workers will be worried today about paying the bills and putting food on the table if Tomago is closed because of Labor's higher energy costs. 'Every worker and every business owner in Australia will be looking at Tomago and worrying if their business can survive the exorbitant energy costs under Labor's renewables agenda.' Tomago's turmoil comes as the government looks to shift the aluminium industry to renewable energy while maintaining the operations of the major smelters. The producer was historically powered by cheap coal-fired generators but the shift away from fossil fuels has presented challenges regarding both energy security and power prices. Ms Hilton said Australia needs to ditch the renewables plan if the nation wants to keep heavy industry from moving overseas. 'If we want to minimise electricity costs, new coal plants will be the cheapest way to supply our grid,' Ms Hilton said. 'If industry remains committed to reducing emissions, nuclear plants are the only option to provide the necessary 24/7 power at an affordable price, so the bans will need to be lifted.' Tomago CEO Jerome Dozol in November 2024 said the company urgently needed public help to assist with the smelter's energy bills. 'The price of electricity on offer is too expensive for us to keep operating without government intervention,' Mr Dozol said.
AU Financial Review
3 days ago
- AU Financial Review
Mongolia forces Rio Tinto into major engineering change at copper mine
Copper production from Rio Tinto's most important growth project will not increase as rapidly nor efficiently as expected, after tensions with the Mongolian government forced Rio to make a major engineering change at the Oyu Tolgoi mine. Rio has been forced to halt eight months of tunnelling work to move the giant underground mine in a northerly direction because the Mongolian government has delayed approval for the mine to enter tenements that are partly owned by Canadian company Entree Resources.
