Miner’s £274m deal

RIo Tinto is selling off aluminium plants in Europe.

The mining titan has received a binding offer of £274m from Norsk Hydro, the Norwegian aluminium firm, for its IsAL smelter in Iceland, its 53.3pc share in the Aluchemie anode plant in the Netherlands, and its 50pc share in an aluminium fluoride plant in sweden.

Rio is trying to streamline its business, while Hydro is trying to make its output as green as possible. The deal will help Hydro produce more than 70pc of its aluminium using renewable energy and boost output by 210,000 tonnes this year.