Rio Tinto played the Government

Remember how rorted $30 million from the , claiming it would be unprofitable without it, and may close their smelter?

Well stuff reports:

The operator of 's Tiwai Point aluminium smelter has posted a $74 million profit despite a volatile aluminium market and high domestic .

Located on Southland's Tiwai Peninsula, New Zealand's Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) is one of two smelters in the world producing ultrahigh purity aluminium. The profit follows a deal for cheaper power and a $30m Government hand-out in 2013.

Rio Tinto Alcan operating as Pacific Aluminium owns 79 per cent of NZAS. Its $74m profit for the year ended December 31 was a 10 per cent increase on the previous years' $67m profit.

The result is a vast turnaround from a $548m loss in 2012, which was hit by massive asset writedowns.

The Government got played, and we paid the bill.

Comments (28)

Login to comment or vote

Add a Comment