New Zealand Aluminium Smelter gets $50m for spent cell liner facility
Rio Tinto New Zealand Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) has approved a $NZ50 million (USD $28.7M) on-site facility. The facility will process spent cell liner (SCL) at Tiwai Point smelter in New Zealand.
Since January 2024, NZAS has worked with specialist processor company Regain to safely treat SCL in Australia before it is reused in the global cement industry. Spent cell liner previously stored in the encapsulated pad will be progressively excavated, processed on-site and exported for re-use.
“Our new facility at Tiwai Point means this processing will now take place in New Zealand, reducing the need for this processing to happen overseas and forming a key part of the long-term remediation plan for the Tiwai site,” said Rio Tinto NZAS acting general manager, Matt Black.
SCL previously stored in the encapsulated pad will be progressively excavated, processed on-site and exported for re-use.
The project will create 20 jobs during construction and six during operations.
All consents for the facility have been received, and construction is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2026.
Once operational, the plant will be run by Regain Services Ltd, which also operates a similar facility at the Tomago smelter in New South Wales, Australia.
“This significant investment reflects Rio Tinto NZAS’ long-term commitment to responsible site stewardship and partnerships across Murihiku Southland. Processing SCL on site is a milestone in delivering on the remediation commitments we have made to Ngāi Tahu and our community.
“The initiative builds on the remediation plan co-designed with Ngāi Tahu, guiding how legacy materials at the Tiwai site are removed, monitored, and recycled, and how the whenua is restored over time. Our partnership with mana whenua is central to how we operate at Tiwai,” Mr Black said.
Rio Tinto managing director of Pacific Operations, Armando Torres, commented: “This significant investment in the smelter at Tiwai underscores our commitment to the remediation programme we are undertaking with our iwi partners, along with our goal of continuous positive stewardship of the land we are privileged to operate on.”
The remediation programme has already seen more than 36,000 tonnes of SCL exported for reuse since 2024, alongside major progress in returning ouvea premix and processing historic dross.
