Grande Baie aluminium plant — Canada

Grande Baie aluminium plant is an aluminium smelter in Canada. Its listed capacity is 236,000 t of alumina/aluminum. Aluminium smelters use large electric currents to refine alumina into molten aluminium above 900°C, and the hot metal must flow through crucibles and casting equipment. It is operated by Rio Tinto Ltd. By capacity it ranks #9 among 11 aluminium smelters in Canada. It emits about 501,533 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE. That is 0.71% of the CO₂e from the 127 facilities in Canada that have an emissions figure in IndustryAtlas.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-3672965.

In context: how this facility compares

At 236,000 t of alumina/aluminum, Grande Baie aluminium plant is below the median aluminium smelter in Canada (314,000 t of alumina/aluminum). Subsector: aluminum. As aluminium smelter, it requires high process heat (typically 600–900°C) for its core industrial operations, supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion. Aluminium smelters use large electric currents to refine alumina into molten aluminium above 900°C, and the hot metal must flow through crucibles and casting equipment.

Capacity & CO₂-intensity comparison computed from Climate TRACE industrial facilities data; sector role based on engineering reference.

What 501,533 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's estimated annual CO₂e (Climate TRACE, modelled) in everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest aluminium smelters in Canada

Listed capacity (t of alumina/aluminum), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Operator

Operated by Rio Tinto Ltd. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

Grande Baie aluminium plant sits in a subarctic (boreal) climate zone (Köppen Dfc), at 48.3°N in the northern hemisphere.

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in a mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with thermal cycling the leading environmental stress.

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1476 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.14× the loss at a 20 °C reference. Reference-surface calculation at a 150 °C surface from WorldClim climate normals (ASTM C680 / ISO 12241) — an indicative per-climate comparison, not a measurement of this site’s specific equipment. Open method dataset: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20787408 (CC BY 4.0).

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby sites

The #9 largest of 11 aluminium smelters in Canada by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

• Laterrière aluminium plant · Aluminium Smelter · 552,536 t CO₂
• Arvida aluminium plant · Aluminium Smelter · 493,032 t CO₂
• Alma aluminium plant · Aluminium Smelter · 1,020,066 t CO₂
• Valero Jean-Gaulin Refinery · Refinery · 2,459,580 t CO₂
• Rolland Enterprises Inc. - Breakey Fibres Division · Pulp & Paper Mill
• Saint Basile Cement Plant · Cement Plant · 615,898 t CO₂

Location

Coordinates 48.30615, -70.92606. View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions