Rio Tinto is remaining tight lipped about ongoing negotiations over its withdrawal from Southland and the looming closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter in 2021.

Rio Tinto spokeswoman Jen Nolan told the Southland App yesterday there was no update on the progress of talks with Southland leaders and cabinet ministers Grant Robertson (finance) and Megan Woods (energy).

The Southland App sought a response from Energy Minister Megan Woods' press secretary yesterday and is waiting for a reply.

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The three Southland mayors, their deputies, and the Environment Southland chair and deputy chair and members of local iwi met with Robertson and Woods in Invercargill on Friday.

Gore district mayor Tracy Hicks chairs the Southland Mayoral Forum.

He said on Friday the meeting was useful to update Southland on what was happening with the negotiations between Rio Tinto and the government. 

Separately on Friday, two major energy companies announced they were investigating the feasibility of producing green hydrogen in the South Island after the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter closes.

The Tiwai smelter contributes an estimated $500 million to Southland's economy. PHOTO: Marjorie Cook

Mr Hicks said the Southland community, iwi and Tiwai staff and their families needed to know what was happening and have definite timelines for a way forward.  

An extended transition period is important to the region’s leaders and business groups, who have been working on plans to cope with the loss of a major prop to the Southland economy (an estimated $500 million).

Southland leaders and iwi are also seeking clarity about remediation of the smelter site, which could cost up about $256 million.

There are also calls for the energy supplied to the smelter from Manapouri power station – about 13% of total power generated in New Zealand - to stay in the south. 

“The Minister [Robertson] confirmed there is still progress to be made. The issues remain transmission pricing and remediation. He said the core issues were the workforce and remediation including intergenerational impact. He told us ‘the deal is still there to be done,’,” Mr Hicks said.

“We have had closure in the backs of our minds for some time now. Our most critical task in the immediate future is to explore all options and to ensure there is not only high quality remediation, but that our community doesn’t suffer,” he said. 

The briefing with Robertson and Woods had gone about as well as could be expected given the circumstances, he said.  

While there had been no guarantees, both ministers had indicated they were continuing to engage with Rio Tinto, he said.

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Earlier this year the Labour party committed to negotiating with Rio Tinto to keep the smelter open for several more years, while a transition plan could be worked on to support the Southland economy.

In July, Woods said in a media release the smelter closure would eventually free up around 13 percent of total power generated in New Zealand, which will relieve some pressure to build new generation. The increased supply will also have a positive impact on prices.

Woods also said she want to make clear the Government expected Rio Tinto to meet their obligations for clean-up of the site and “do the right thing on the dross”.

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In a separate Environment Court mediation, New Zealand Aluminium Smelter Ltd (a subsidiary of Rio Tinto) has been working with the Environmental Defence Society, the Minister for the Environment and the Southland Mayoral Forum to address concerns about the storage of ouvea premix owned by a third party Bahrain-based company (now in liquidation).

Ouvea premix is a by-product of dross, produced by the smelting process.

The Environment Court issued a minute to the media on Friday stating that the ouvea premix was being placed in containers ready for shipping overseas, but the removal operation would not be completed by Christmas as had been hoped.

READ MORE:

Tiwai Point smelter closure: Power firms explore green hydrogen options

Ouvea pre-mix in Mataura will go overseas, Judge says