Rio Quebec Aluminum Smelter Line May Be Closed for 6 Months

An aluminum production line at Rio Tinto Plc’s Laterriere Works smelter in Quebec may be closed for as long as six months after two electrical transformers failed.

Workers may be laid off because of yesterday’s failure, Quebec’s RDI television news network reported today, citing Rio officials at a press conference in Saguenay, Quebec.

The smelter is currently operating at half of its total capacity of 235,000 metric tons, the London-based company said in a statement. The cause of the incident and its impact on the plant are under investigation, Rio said.

The London-based company is the world’s second-largest aluminum producer after Russia’s United Co. Rusal.