MONTREAL, Sep. 17, 2009 (PR Newswire Europe) -- v> Rio Tinto Alcan is preparing to restart idled production capacity at its Vaudreuil alumina refinery in Quebec, Canada.

"The decision to curtail 25 per cent of Vaudreuil's production last January was a necessary step to reposition our business but current market conditions warrant restarting this capacity," said Jacynthe Côté, Chief executive, Rio Tinto Alcan. "The Vaudreuil plant complements our network of alumina supply options and will continue to adjust production as required."

Restarting capacity will not impact the permanent workforce at the plant and some contractors are expected to be recalled to the refinery.

"Vaudreuil will continue to adjust its operations to maintain its competitiveness. Having the flexibility to operate at variable production levels is important to sustain the refinery's viability," said Steve Hodgson, President, Bauxite and Alumina, Rio Tinto Alcan.

Located in Jonquière, Vaudreuil Works is Canada's largest inorganic chemicals centre with an annual production of 1.5 million tonnes in alumina and specialty chemicals. Most of the alumina produced is smelter grade for further processing into primary aluminium.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southern Africa.

http://www.riotintoalcan.com/

For further information: Rio Tinto Alcan Media Relations, Canada: Stefano Bertolli, +1(514)848-8151, stefano.bertolli@riotinto.com; Rio Tinto Alcan Media Relations, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean: Claudine Gagnon, +1(418)699-4005, claudine.gagnon@riotinto.com; Rio Tinto Alcan Media Relations, Australia: Diane Collier, +61(0)07-3867-1665, diane.collier@riotinto.com;