Rio Tinto commissions $1.5 billion low-carbon smelter expansion in Quebec

May 29 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto said on Friday it has started commissioning its $1.5 ?billion low-carbon aluminium smelter expansion in the Canadian ‌province of Quebec.

The Anglo-Australian mining giant expects the start-up to be completed by the end of this year, with all 96 ?new pots operating in Complexe Arvida.

This will increase ?the plant's capacity by about 160,000 metric tonnes ?of primary aluminium annually for a total of ?220,000 metric tonnes produced with the low-carbon AP60 smelting technology.

The ?AP60 expansion supports the transition to carbon-free aluminium electrolysis technology by ELYSIS, a partnership with Alcoa.

Separately on Friday, Melanie Joly, Canada's minister ?of industry and minister responsible for Canada economic ?development for Quebec Regions, announced a C$100 million ($72.55 million) investment in the ‌ELYSIS ?technology deployment project.

"With rising tariffs and continued trade uncertainties, the Government of Canada is taking decisive action to protect Canadian workers, reinforce domestic supply chains and build ?a stronger and ?more resilient ?economy," the Canadian government's statement said.

Rio Tinto said combining the AP60 technology with the ?hydropower used in its Canada operations would ?generate ?one-sixth of the greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of aluminium compared to the industry average.

The Arvida smelter is located ?in the ?Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, which ?is responsible for nearly half of Rio's global aluminium production.