The Government says it will support the Southland economy following today's news that Rio Tinto plans to close the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter next year. “The smelter supports hundreds of jobs in Southland and the Government will work with the local community to support economic development in the region to help offset this loss.’’The closure of the smelter had been long-predicted but that did not make the news any easier to take, Mr Robertson said. Rio Tinto says it plans to close the smelter next year. Photo: Laura Smith‘‘We know the strengths of Southland and we want to build on them in areas such as agriculture, aquaculture and manufacturing,’’ Mr Robertson said. ‘‘There is also an opportunity to support other energy intensive projects like green hydrogen and data centres.’’

Source: Otago Daily Times July 08, 2020 23:09 UTC