Australia flooding hits Rio Tinto aluminium ops

13th Jan 2011 07:05

The flooding in Queensland, Australia that has caused widespread disruption to Rio Tinto's coal operations has also hit its aluminium activities, the mining giant has reported.It said its aluminium arm Rio Tinto Alcan has experienced a force majeure event, impacting the supply of the aluminium from Boyne Smelters near Gladstone. "The floods have cut road and rail access between Gladstone and Brisbane and the Brisbane port is closed, preventing deliveries to some domestic and international customers," said Rio. "Rio Tinto Alcan is investigating alternative arrangements for customers, including shipping aluminium directly out of the Gladstone port."It said it cannot yet give an estimate of the full impact of the disruption.Last month Rio said the flooding forced it to declare force majeure on contracts from its coal mines at Hail Creek, Kestrel, Blair Athol and Clermont in Queensland's Bowen Basin.