Rio Tinto and Giampaolo Group, one of North America's largest
fully-integrated metal management businesses, have entered into an
agreement to form a joint venture to manufacture and market
recycled aluminium products. The transaction reflects the joint
venture partners’ shared commitment to meeting the increasing
demand for low-carbon aluminium as a key material in the energy
transition.
Under the terms of the agreement, Rio Tinto will acquire a 50%
equity stake in Giampaolo Group’s wholly-owned Matalco business for
$700 million1 subject to usual closing adjustments.
Matalco is a leading producer of high-quality recycled aluminium
billet and slab products. It operates six facilities in the United
States and one in Canada, with the capacity to produce
approximately 900,000 tonnes of recycled aluminium per annum.
Giampaolo Group subsidiary Triple M Metal will be responsible
for the supply of recyclable feed to the joint venture with
Matalco’s leadership team continuing to manage its operations. Rio
Tinto will be responsible for sales and marketing of Matalco
products following a transition period after completion of the
transaction.
The joint venture partners will provide oversight to the Matalco
management team on matters such as strategic decisions, including
executive appointments, safety and ESG standards through a board
with equal representation.
The joint venture will enable Rio Tinto to provide a broader
range of high-quality and low-carbon, primary, recycled, and
blended aluminium products, at a time when customers are looking
for solutions to lower their carbon footprint. The joint venture
will also enhance Matalco’s current service offering to a wider
array of customers, while securing access for low-carbon primary
metal for its operations. Recycled aluminium is forecast to account
for more than half of United States demand by 20282.
Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said: “Investing in
recycling is part of our drive to find better ways to deliver the
low-carbon materials the world needs and provides a natural
extension of our industry leading primary aluminium business. We
look forward to providing customers with aluminium solutions that
meet their needs for low-carbon primary and recycled materials in
partnership with Giampaolo Group a leader in providing recycled
material in North America.”
Giampaolo Group Inc. CEO Chris Galifi said: “I am delighted to
partner with Rio Tinto, a leader in the global aluminium industry.
We have steadily invested within the recycling supply chain and
have grown the Matalco business over the past 18 years, based on
our strategy focussing on a circular economy, and are extremely
proud of the high-quality, low-carbon products we produce.
Giampaolo Group and Rio Tinto have an excellent track record of
creating successful collaborations to unlock value for customers
and we look forward to joining forces to combine our complementary
expertise in the recycling value chain with their experience and
track record of innovation in the primary aluminium industry.”
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and
is expected to be completed in the first half of 2024.
About Rio Tinto Aluminium
Rio Tinto is a global leader in aluminium, with a large-scale,
vertically-integrated business: bauxite mines and alumina
refineries as well as smelters producing aluminium certified as
responsible. The Matalco joint venture continues Rio Tinto’s
investment in building its supply of low-carbon aluminium in North
America. Previous investments include $1.1 billion to expand the
use of its AP60 technology at its Arvida aluminium smelter in June
2023, $29 million to establish new recycling capabilities at the
Arvida smelter in August 2022, and $188 million to increase billet
production capability at the Alma smelter in July 2022, all in the
Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec.
Rio Tinto is also working with the Governments of Canada and
Quebec towards a deployment of the ELYSISTM zero carbon aluminium
smelting technology at its Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean facilities. With
the current development pathway, the ELYSIS joint venture between
Rio Tinto and Alcoa aims to have its technology available for
installation from 2024 and the production of larger volumes of
carbon-free aluminium approximately two years later.
About Giampaolo Group and Matalco
The Giampaolo Group was founded over 50 years ago in Toronto,
Ontario with a distinct focus in the recycling industry. Since
established, the organization has evolved into a multinational
integrated metal corporation. The Giampaolo Group focuses on
harvesting waste within the metal ecosystem by operating within the
recycling, manufacturing, and IT asset disposition space.
Established in 2005, Matalco is a leading producer of recycled
aluminium billet and slab. From the initial foray into 6XXX series
billet, Matalco currently produces a variety of 3XXX, 5XXX, 6XXX
and 7XXX billet and slab while offering both direct and tolled
products. Headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, the company has
solidified its position as a frontrunner in the industry. With
seven remelting and casting facilities spread across North America,
Matalco employs over 650 skilled professionals and operates an
extensive logistics network to service its customers. Its primary
focus is to supply upstream producers of extruded, forged, and
rolled products while relying on Triple M Metal to supply
recyclable raw material to provide a truly closed loop solution to
its customers.
This announcement is authorised for release to the market by
Steve Allen, Rio Tinto’s Group Company Secretary.
1 All dollar amounts in this press release are stated in US
dollars. 2 Source: CRU Aluminium Long Term Market Outlook, December
2022.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230721134315/en/
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