Rio Tinto completes lease and sale of wharf and land to LNG Canada

Rio Tinto has completed the lease and sale of a wharf and land in Kitimat, British Columbia, to LNG Canada for a consideration of $576 million.

LNG Canada, a joint venture comprising Shell, PETRONAS, PetroChina, Mitsubishi Corporation and KOGAS entered into an Option Agreement with Rio Tinto in 2014 for various options to lease or purchase the wharf and areas of land.

Rio Tinto Chief financial officer Jakob Stausholm said "This sale demonstrates our ability to generate cash from an existing asset, without losing future cash flow, as we continue to drive value across our entire portfolio."

LNG Canada will construct a replacement wharf for Rio Tinto to export shipments of aluminium from the BC Works smelter.