Rio Tinto reported a 38% increase in EBITDA for its Aluminium & Lithium segment compared to H1 2025.

The Aluminium & Lithium segment (including bauxite, alumina, aluminium, and lithium) reported an underlying EBITDA of $3,311 million.

This increase was driven by higher aluminium prices and product premiums.

These benefits outweighed the impact of foreign exchange headwinds, inflation, and elevated energy and aluminium raw material prices.

Simon Trott, CEO at Rio Tinto, noted that nearly 60% of Rio Tinto’s overall underlying EBITDA of $14.8 billion was delivered from copper, aluminium, and lithium.

Meanwhile, segment revenue increased 24% year-on-year to $9,969 million.

Aluminium

The aluminium business generated $9,401 million in revenue and $3,093 million in EBITDA.

Average realised prices, including LME pricing and product premiums, rose 39% year-on-year to $4,343 per tonne.

Production remained flat at 1.68 million tonnes.

However, higher output from Kitimat, New Zealand Aluminium Smelter (NZAS), and AP60, largely offset the planned closure of Arvida.

Kitimat continued to ramp up to nameplate capacity, as improved hydrological conditions supported higher hydro power output, while NZAS operated at full capacity.

The transition from Arvida to AP60 progressed to plan with the final potlines closed in June and AP60 continuing its ramp-up towards full capacity by the end of 2026.

Meanwhile, the AP60 expansion in Quebec, Canada, delivered first metal in March 2026.

Furthermore, value-added products (VAP) accounted for 41% of primary aluminium sales, down from 46% in the first half of 2025.

On the aluminium segment, Mr Trott said: “We’ve delivered around $40 million in annual savings across our Atlantic aluminium operations with a sharpened focus on contractor management.

“This follows a focused Kaizen looking to remove bottlenecks across all sites.

“To me, this is what operational excellence looks like in practice. It’s not about slogans; it’s about thousands of people making better decisions every day.”

Alumina

The alumina segment recorded revenue of $1,528 million and an EBITDA of -$2 million.

Realised prices dropped 29% to $308 per tonne.

Production reached 4.0 million tonnes, up 8% year-on-year, reflecting full ownership of Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL).

This was partially offset by weather and reliability events at Yarwun, Australia, and Vaudreuil, Canada.

At Yarwun, Rio Tinto will reduce production by 40% from October 2026 to extend its life until 2035 and allow time to explore further life-extension and modernisation options.

Bauxite

Bauxite revenue stood at $1,479 million, with EBITDA at $464 million.

Realised prices declined 27% year-on-year to $56 per dry metric tonne.

Output dropped 7% to 28.5 million tonnes due to weather disruptions in Q1, which resulted in a 0.9 million tonne reduction in volume.

However, production impact from the weather is expected to be recovered over the remainder of the year.

2026 Outlook

At the end of 2026, Rio Tinto expects to produce 3.25 to 3.45 million tonnes of aluminium; 7.6 to 8.0 million tonnes of alumina; and 58 to 61 million tonnes of bauxite.

The full results are available here.