Rio Tinto shuts Australia alumina refinery - paper

SYDNEY, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO.AX: ） will lose about 120,000 tonnes of alumina production due to the unplanned shutdown of its Yarwun refinery in northern Australian for the rest of this month, the Australian Financial Review newspaper said on Friday. The paper said the facility had been shut down on July 29 after a blocked pipeline was discovered, and Rio brought forward maintenance to mitigate the cost of the idling. Each week the plant is closed, Rio loses 30,000 tonnes of alumina output, worth more than $12 million at current prices, the paper said. A four-week stoppage would remove 120,000 tonnes from world markets, possibly raising prices in the short term, it said. Rio is working to fix the problem with the pipeline, which removes mud residue from the refinery, and has declined to comment on the cost of the idling, the paper said, citing a spokeswoman. Rio is fighting a $123 billion hostile takeover from rival BHP Billiton Ltd. It will announce first-half earnings on Aug 26, when the paper said it was expected to also give an update on the Yarwun refinery. (Reporting by Jonathan Standing, Editing by Mark Bendeich)