10th Mar 2008 17:44
Rio Tinto PLC10 March 2008 Rio Tinto Alcan AP-Xe aluminium smelting technology to offer up to 20 per centreduction in energy consumption 10 March 2008 Rio Tinto Alcan announced today at the TMS 2008 Conference in New Orleans, USAthat it has begun development on the next generation of its AP Technologyseries. To be called AP-Xe, this new technology could potentially lead to a stepchange in energy consumption of up to 20 per cent along with a reducedenvironmental impact and improved full economic cost. "In a world increasingly concerned with climate change and the environmentalimpact of industrial growth, this new technology promises a potentialbreakthrough. The development of a greener, more energy efficient productionprocess, combined with aluminium's well-established attributes such as lightweight and recyclability, makes for a winning combination," stated JacyntheCote, president, Primary Metal, Rio Tinto Alcan. "The AP-Xe will provide us withthe technology we need for future generations of greenfield and brownfieldexpansions," she added. AP-Xe will be developed in phases, including a potentially workable "drainedcathode" that, taken together with other portfolio technologies underdevelopment, could result in a lowering of unit energy consumption by up to 20per cent. This technology is designed to be retrofitted to previous AP seriescells. While the maximum energy consumption savings are expected from greenfieldapplications, significant savings could also be achieved in retrofitted cells. Drained cathode cells are already under test on an industrial scale and theimmediate next phase will be the progressive start-up of a 10-cell AP30 testsection at Rio Tinto Alcan's site in St-Jean-de-Maurienne, France. Ifsuccessful, an industrial scale-up of this aluminium technology could beginwithin five years. "While we continue to develop and improve our highly successful andenvironmentally responsible AP30 aluminium technology platform, and move forwardwith the recently announced pilot for AP50 in Quebec, Canada, we are devoting alarge portion of our R&D to the development of future generations of our APTechnology," continued Cote. This new initiative will be supported by Rio Tinto Alcan's global technology andR&D network. "The goal of this AP-Xe aluminium technology is to significantlyreduce and eventually eliminate emissions while achieving a step change inenergy consumption," stated Don Macmillan, vice president, Technology andOperational Excellence, Rio Tinto Alcan Primary Metal. "With the first metalfrom the AP50 pilot plant project expected in Quebec in 2010, we are alsolooking beyond this to the first AP-Xe proof-of-concept cells to be built at ourcentre in St-Jean-de-Maurienne, where initial work is already underway", addedMr. Macmillan. This AP-Xe development clearly manifests Rio Tinto Alcan's intention to maintainits leadership in aluminium technology. With approximately seven and a halfthousand AP Technology cells in operation around the world today, representingsome six million tons of installed capacity, AP Technology is a global leader.Facilities reaching close to a million more tons are under construction with, inaddition, several million tons in various stages of evaluation, either internalto Rio Tinto Alcan or with potential partners or licensees. About Rio Tinto Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK,combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio TintoLimited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Majorproducts are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold,industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore.Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and NorthAmerica with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southernAfrica. Forward-Looking Statements This announcement includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning ofSection 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of theSecurities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other thanstatements of historical facts included in this announcement, including, withoutlimitation, those regarding Rio Tinto's financial position, business strategy,plans and objectives of management for future operations (including developmentplans and objectives relating to Rio Tinto's products and production forecasts),are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve knownand unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actualresults, performance or achievements of Rio Tinto, or industry results, to bematerially different from any future results, performance or achievementsexpressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding RioTinto's present and future business strategies and the environment in which RioTinto will operate in the future. Among the important factors that could causeRio Tinto's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materiallyfrom those in the forward-looking statements include, among others, levels ofactual production during any period, levels of demand and market prices, theability to produce and transport products profitably, the impact of foreigncurrency exchange rates on market prices and operating costs, operationalproblems, political uncertainty and economic conditions in relevant areas of theworld, the actions of competitors, activities by governmental authorities suchas changes in taxation or regulation and such other risk factors identified inRio Tinto's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the United StatesSecurities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") or Form 6-Ks furnished to theSEC. Forward-looking statements should, therefore, be construed in light of suchrisk factors and undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. These forward-lookingstatements speak only as of the date of this announcement. Rio Tinto expresslydisclaims any obligation or undertaking (except as required by applicable law,the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Takeover Code"), the UK ListingRules, the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the Financial Services Authorityand the Listing Rules of the Australian Securities Exchange) to release publiclyany updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein toreflect any change in Rio Tinto's expectations with regard thereto or any changein events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Nothing in this announcement should be interpreted to mean that future earningsper share of Rio Tinto plc or Rio Tinto Limited will necessarily match or exceedits historical published earnings per share. Subject to the requirements of the Takeover Code, none of Rio Tinto, any of itsofficers or any person named in this announcement with their consent or anyperson involved in the preparation of this announcement makes any representationor warranty (either express or implied) or gives any assurance that the impliedvalues, anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied inforward-looking statements contained in this announcement will be achieved. For further information, please contact: Media Relations, London Media Relations, AustraliaChristina Mills Ian HeadOffice: +44 (0) 20 7781 1154 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3620Mobile: +44 (0) 7825 275 605 Mobile: +61 (0) 408 360 101 Nick Cobban Amanda BuckleyOffice: +44 (0) 20 7781 1138 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3627Mobile: +44 (0) 7920 041 003 Mobile: +61 (0) 419 801 349 Rio Tinto Alcan Media Relations, Canada Rio Tinto Alcan Media Relations, Paris Chrystele IvinsStefano Bertolli Tel.: +33-1-57-00-24-18Tel.: +1-514-848-8151 [email protected]@alcan.com Media Relations, USNancy IvesMobile: +1 619 540 3751 Investor Relations, London Investor Relations, AustraliaNigel Jones Dave SkinnerOffice: +44 (0) 20 7753 2401 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3628Mobile: +44 (0) 7917 227 365 Mobile: +61 (0) 408 335 309 David Ovington Simon EllinorOffice: +44 (0) 20 7753 2326 Office:+ 61 (0) 7 3867 1068Mobile: +44 (0) 7920 010 978 Investor Relations, North AmericaJason CombesOffice: +1 (0) 801 685 4535Mobile: +1 (0) 801 558 2645 Email: [email protected] Websites: www.riotinto.com www.riotinto.com/riotintoalcan This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Rio Tinto