Daily London
More than 1000 jobs have been saved at Australia’s biggest aluminium smelter after the government stepped in with a deal that would allow the plant to remain open beyond 2028.
Rio Tinto warned that closure was all but guaranteed for its Tomago smelter in the NSW Hunter Region when its coal power contract ends in 2028, due to soaring energy costs.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the federal and NSW governments have struck a deal with the owners to provide clean energy to the smelter so that it can remain open.
”There has been a board meeting here that’s considered the proposals that were going forward, and what that will look like is Tomago agreeing to have more investment here in their capability, at the same time as we provide security of a guarantee of energy price going forward as well,” he told reporters in Tomago.
Albanese said it was in the “national interest” to keep the smelter open, jobs going, and manufacturing in Australia.
“I say to all the workers here, have a great Christmas in the knowledge that over the coming months, as a result of the decision that we have taken, we’ll be working on finalising these details to make sure that your future is as secure,” he said.
“My government is working together with the NSW state government and Tomago Aluminium on a new energy agreement that will secure the future of the facility.”
The federal government was in negotiations with the NSW government over funding arrangements.
The details will be finalised in the coming months.
Based in the Hunter about 13km west of Newcastle, Tomago is Australia’s largest aluminium smelter and produces almost 40 per cent of the country’s aluminium.
Rio Tinto is the majority owner, with Gove Aluminium Finance and Norwegian-owned energy company Norsk Hydro also owning smaller parts of the smelter.
In late October, Rio Tinto announced that the increasing cost of energy meant it was struggling to find an “economically viable” solution to keep the plant operating past the end of the contract.
The company started consultations with the employees regarding the future of operations.
“We continue to engage with stakeholders on a viable pathway for Tomago,” Tomago Aluminium chief executive Jérôme Dozol said at the time.
“Unfortunately, all market proposals received so far show future energy prices are not commercially viable, and there is significant uncertainty about when renewable projects will be available at the scale we need.
“While no decision has been made, this is a difficult point to reach.”
