Rio Tinto pulls the plug on Tiwai, wiping $2.8b off gentailers

Energy stocks sank in early trading after Rio Tinto said it will shut the aluminium smelter at Tiwai Point next year, wiping more than $2.8 billion off the value of the country's five biggest electricity generator-retailers. New Zealand Aluminium Smelter - a joint venture between Rio Tinto and Sumitomo Chemical - has given Meridian Energy notice to terminate the smelter’s power contract when it ends in in August next year, by which time operations will be shut. Meridian shares sank 18 percent when trading opened on the NZX, and were recen...