New Zealand aluminium smelter

Located on the Tiwai Peninsula, New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Limited (NZAS) is one of the world's largest aluminium smelters. NZAS is a tolling operation that converts alumina to primary aluminium products for its two joint venture partners, Rio Tinto Aluminium, based in Brisbane and Sumitomo Chemical Company of Japan. The majority of the plant's alumina is supplied to NZAS from the Queensland Alumina Limited (Rio Tinto Aluminium 38.6 per cent) refinery at Gladstone in Queensland, Australia.

In the late 1960s, Tiwai Point was chosen as the location for an aluminium smelter for a number of reasons. Aluminium smelting requires a large and very reliable power source to continually supply electricity to reduction cells, and Tiwai Point's proximity to then proposed Manapouri Power Station made it an attractive location.  In addition, Tiwai Point was close to the deep sea port of Bluff and the well established infrastructure of the City of Invercargill (for employees and general supplies). 

Since opening in 1971, the smelter has been expanded three times. Aluminium ranks seventh in New Zealand as a commodity export earner and NZAS ranks first as a single operating site. Independent analysis of the economic benefit of NZAS to the New Zealand economy is NZ$3.65 billion.

NZAS produces primary aluminium products for domestic and export markets. The smelting process is the third stage in the aluminium production process. Click here to read more about the smelting process.

Location

New Zealand is located in the southern Pacific Ocean and comprises of two main islands (the North and South Islands) and several smaller islands of which the combined total land area is 270,534 square kilometres (104,454 square miles). For more information visit www.govt.nz. Invercargill is New Zealand's southernmost city and with a population of approximately 57,000, the city is the commercial heart of the Southland region. Invercargill is also the gateway to some of New Zealand's most beautiful scenery including the Catlins, Fiordland, and Stewart Island. The area around Invercargill has long been the centre of meat and wool exports in New Zealand.

Operation data