Post-Consumer Aluminium Recycling Centre to Open in Arvida

Rio Tinto is taking another step forward in its strategy to decarbonise and develop the recycling market, announcing today a CAD 35 million investment in a new post-consumer aluminium recycling centre to offer its customers products with a lower carbon footprint.

The announcement, which was issued this morning at a press conference in Arvida, will make Rio Tinto the first primary aluminium producer in North America to incorporate recycled post-consumer aluminium into its alloys. 

Rio Tinto plans to source from Quebec companies clean aluminium scrap from used vehicles and construction materials. This scrap will be remelted to produce recycled content that will be incorporated into

aluminium billets at Arvida Works and other products for the automotive, packaging, and construction markets at Rio Tinto’s regional facilities.

Sébastien Ross, Managing Director, Atlantic Operations for Rio Tinto Aluminium, said, “This investment in a new recycling centre at Arvida Works is another step in our strategy to increase our production of aluminium with a lower carbon footprint and to integrate the circular economy into our value chain. By doing so, we will be able to continue to meet our customers’ growing demand for traceable and responsible products.”

The investment complements our partnership with Shawinigan Aluminium Inc. and the addition of a new remelt furnace at Rio Tinto’s Laterrière Works, demonstrating our commitment to decarbonisation and the recycling market. 

Major benefits for the region

The project is expected to generate CAD 30 million in economic benefits in Quebec and will create approximately 10 new permanent jobs at Arvida Works.

With an initial capacity of 30,000 tonnes per year, the recycling centre will be set up in an existing building at Arvida Works. It will include a remelt furnace equipped with regenerative burners, a dust collector, and an automated scrap loading system. Work is expected to begin in October 2022, and the centre should be commissioned in the second quarter of 2024.

Please visit the Rio Tinto Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean Facebook page (in French) to watch the press conference. The official video of the announcement can be found here (in French).