Rio Tinto has had a major presence in British Columbia for 60 years with the Kitimat smelter being open since 1954. The newest smelter began production in 2015 and will effectively halve the smelter’s overall emissions. Its capacity will increase by about 48 per cent to 420,000 tonnes annually making it one of the worlds lowest cost smelters.
Rio Tinto general manager Gareth Manderson will be in Prince George to speak as part of the Chamber of Commerce’s Speaker Series October 17.
He will be speaking on, world markets and the increased competition, Kitimat Works value added and high quality aluminum, what is required to stay competitive in the aluminum industry, economic benefits to the B.C. economy, the region and communities, BC Works products and quality of aluminum, Rio Tinto BC Works low carbon footprint.
In his role as general manager he leads Rio Tinto Aluminum’s business in British Columbia, incorporating the operations of the Kitimat smelter, Kemano power generation facility and the Nechako Watershed. Prior to this he led the Weipa Bauxite business in Australia comprising of two mining operations. a port and the local town of Weipa.Manderson has lived and worked in Australia, Canada, the USA and Italy, and completed assignments in a number of other countries. He has held accountability for business and operational leadership, consulting services, administrative and function support, and taken part in strategy development and due diligence work.
While the majority of his career has been with Rio Tinto, he has also worked outside Rio Tinto.This has led to opportunities and experience across sectors such as manufacturing, project management, chemicals and oil and gas, as well as mining, mineral processing, smelting and hydro-electric power generation. While in these roles, Manderson has enjoyed working with people inside and outside his organization to create opportunities that allow for the sustainable growth of both business and community.
Manderson lives in Kitimat, with his wife and two children. He holds an engineering degree, a master of business administration and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
His talk will be held at the Prince George Signature Sandman.
