Kitimat, B.C. - Rio Tinto Alcan has reached a deal to buy the Eurocan wharf facility in Kitimat from West Fraser Timber.

 

The wharf has been up for grabs since West Fraser shuttered its paper and linerboard mill last year.

 

The aluminum producer says the acquisition will secure additional wharfing space as it embarks on its massive smelter modernization project in Kitimat.

 

Vice President of BC Operations and Strategic Operations Paul Henning says the agreement will help the company accommodate for the increase in aluminum production and raw materials to be shipped in and out of Kitimat.

 

Rio Tinto says the smelter upgrades will increase the current capacity by more than 48 percent to approximately 420,000 tonnes a year.

 

The purchase agreement is subject to government approvals which should be finalized by the end of the year.

 

Rio Tinto has not disclosed the financial terms of the deal.