About Kitimat Modernization
2011 is a big year for the Kitimat Modernization Project. Rio Tinto Alcan announced on 13 December 2010 it is investing an additional US$300 million to further construction in preparation for the US$2.5 billion modernization of the aluminium smelter in Kitimat, British Columbia. As many people know, the modernization of the smelter was slowed in the wake of the global economic crisis that occurred during the latter part of 2008 through end of 2010.
The US$300 million investment in 2010 meant that early works construction on the Kitmat Modernization Project would ramp up this year, in 2011 – and ramp up it has. Major projects taking place on the project this year include the building of the KMP Construction Village, the cleaning and demolition of pot lines 7 & 8 at the existing smelter to make way for the new smelter footprint and the building of a massive underground utilities corridor that will provide critical services to the new facility.
The excitement on the ground in Kitimat is palpable as contractors arrive on site and these significant projects get under way. Click on the KMP Construction Camera icon on our home page to see up-to-date photos of the construction site and the activities taking place on it. You will find that over time, the images will demonstrate the scope of this major project.
The Kitimat Modernization Project will increase the smelter’s current production capacity by more than 48 per cent to approximately 420,000 tonnes per year. The modernized Kitimat smelter will be powered exclusively by hydroelectricity and use Rio Tinto Alcan’s proprietary AP technology to reduce its overall emissions intensity by up to 50 per cent per year.
“The modernization of our Kitimat smelter is truly a transformational project, in line with our strategic objective to grow via long-life, large-scale, low-cost assets,” said Jacynthe Côté, chief executive, Rio Tinto Alcan when the US$300 billion was announced in 2010. “Once completed, Kitimat will be one of the lowest-cost smelters in the world.”
The modernization of the Kitimat smelter has been a long time coming.
Since 1997, Rio Tinto Alcan has spent about $25 million on feasibility studies to retrofit, modernize or expand the Kitimat Works smelter. Rio Tinto Alcan announced on August 14, 2006, that it would conditionally proceed with a US $1.8 billion investment, to fully modernize the Kitimat smelter, introducing the latest evolution in Rio Tinto Alcan’s AP (Aluminium Pechiney) technology.
The implementation of the modernization project was subject to conditions, which were achieved in 2008. Those conditions were: the BCUC approval of the Energy Purchase Agreement with BC Hydro; confirmation for our environmental permitting processes; and a labour agreement with the Canadian AutoWorkers (CAW), Local 2301 that extended the term of the collective labour agreement (CLA) to 2012.
And while the global economic crisis may have slowed down the official start of the project, here we are in 2011 and work has commenced. The new smelter site is abuzz with early works construction activity and a feeling of forward movement is afoot. We are indeed Building the Future Together.
Rio Tinto Alcan’s BC Operations aluminium smelter complex is located on the Douglas Channel, a year-round ice-free ocean port, located in Kitimat, on the northwest coast of British Columbia. We are ideally situated to meet the ever-growing aluminum market demands of our customers located in the Pacific Rim.
Our Kitimat smelter's nameplate capacity is 282,000 tonnes of aluminum per year. We operate a world class hydro-electric power generating facility in Kemano, BC, and a coke calcining plant in Edmonton, Alberta. Rio Tinto Alcan maintains Corporate Affairs and Community Relations offices in Kitimat, Burns Lake, Vanderhoof and Vancouver.
Rio Tinto Alcan has been a proud partner in the development of British Columbia’s northwest region for over 56 years. We export value-added aluminum ingot products to our customers in the Pacific Rim market. Our smelter contributes more than $500 million annually to the Canadian economy, of which more than $269 million stay in British Columbia. In addition, our combined operations in BC and Alberta currently provide employment for about 1,400 people.
