Rio Tinto said on Tuesday that it will proceed with a 1.8 billion US dollar expansion of the Yarwun alumina refinery at Gladstone in the northeastern Australian state of Queensland.
The world's second-largest miner said the expansion will more than double annual production, increasing output by two million tonnes to 3.4 million tonnes by 2011.
Rio Tinto's long life resource at Weipa in northern Queensland will supply bauxite to the refinery.
Rio Tinto said the Yarwun expansion will have the benefit of substantial scale efficiencies gained from the construction of the first stage of the refinery.
It said work on the expansion will start during the third quarter and is expected to take about three years to complete. First shipments are expected in the second half of 2010.
All government approvals have been granted, the company said.
Oscar Groeneveld, chief executive of Rio Tinto's aluminium group, said in a statement that the expansion will 'firmly position Rio Tinto in the first quartile of the alumina cost curve and create future supply for growth in the world traded alumina market.'
Groeneveld said the project will include a gas-fired cogeneration facility to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency.
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