(Reuters) – Mining giant Rio Tinto (NYSE:) said on Tuesday it would buy Mitsubishi Corp’s 11.65% stake in Boyne Smelters (BSL) for an undisclosed amount.
Boyne, which owns and operates the Boyne Island aluminum smelter in Gladstone, Australia, is a joint venture between Rio Tinto, YKK Aluminum and others.
At the end of May, Rio signed a deal to buy Sumitomo Chemical’s 2.46% stake in the venture.
The purchase from Sumitomo Chemical and completion of the Mitsubishi deal will increase Rio’s stake in Boyne to 73.5%, the Australian miner said.
“Rio Tinto looks forward to continuing to work with the remaining BSL joint venture partners and other stakeholders to secure a competitive low-carbon future for its Gladstone operations,” Rio Tinto said.
The acquisition is scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2024.
For Mitsubishi, the sale is part of a restructuring of its aluminum portfolio and the financial impact – which will occur in the July-September quarter – on its full-year profit outlook will be limited, a company spokesman said.
The Japanese trading house will no longer hold stakes in any aluminum smelters but will remain actively involved in the aluminum business, including trading and investing in bauxite assets, the spokesman said. The growth potential for the metal lies in the production of lightweight vehicles to achieve greater efficiency, they say.
In 2021, Mitsubishi agreed to buy 30% of the Aurukun bauxite project in Australia from Glencore (OTC:).