RIO TINTO says it is starting to restore capacity at its New Zealand Tiwai Point aluminium smelter.
The aluminium smelter at Tiwai Point lost capacity after its transformer failed on 9 November 2008. This followed a production cut in May 2008 due to power prices. Rio Tinto put off restoring capacity due to the poor aluminium market worldwide.
The Tiwai Point aluminium smelter will see its capacity rise to about 89%, with further increases possible, depending on the market conditions for the metal.
Rio Tinto says the speed of the operation will depend on its monitoring of the transformer, cell performance and other equipment.
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