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    Wittbecker on Aluminum: Rio Tinto's power move

    Written by Greg Wittbecker


    Rio Tinto is embarking on a major upgrade of the nearly century-old Isle-Maligne hydroelectric station in Quebec. A capital expenditure of CA$1.7 billion (US$1.2 billion) will be spent to secure low-carbon power for its aluminum smelters in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region.

    The project is projected to take seven years to modernize one of Canada’s oldest hydropower assets to sustain what Rio-Tinto calls some of the world’s lowest-carbon aluminum production.

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    AMU: Edward Meir’s week in review and thoughts for the week of Oct. 12, 2026

    Base metals had a mixed week. Tin lost almost 4% on the week, finishing at $53,000/ton. Prices dropped to a low of $51,259/ton at one point. Aluminum was another loser, off by about 1.6% on the week. Investors are expecting more aluminum supply going forward, especially out of China and Indonesia. Copper prices tacked on 1.1%. They have now recovered more than half of the $700/ton loss sustained (over the course of a week) following reports/rumors in mid-September that US tariffs on refined copper imports might not proceed after all.