In January 2020, Bell Bay Aluminium - which is owned by the Rio Tinto Group - was forced back into negotiations with Hydro Tasmania after a slump in aluminium prices began squeezing out the operation's margins.

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Two years later, Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm said that the refinery was once again making money "after some very tough years".

With the site's existing contract with Hydro Tasmania due to expire in three years, Rio Tinto and the state government have signed a memorandum of understanding to investigate the future of the operation after 2025.

Under the memorandum, Rio Tinto and the state government have agreed to examine "how the smelter's manufacturing capability and electricity demand can help support the development of new industries and more renewable energy supply in the region". That said, few details about what this could mean for the smelter's future have been disclosed.

"What we are commiting to is getting some of the best technical experts to study what there could be in terms of opportunities," Mr Stausholm said.

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Rio's 67-year-old aluminium operation in the state's North directly employs more than 500 employees and another 700 indirectly. The MOU flagged reinvestment into the operation though no hard figures or timelines were detailed. That said, Mr Stausholm did note that the site's CO2 emissions from the site as a key area of interest.

The company's aluminium arm accounts for about half of its CO2 emissions, making it a key area for improvement if Rio hopes to reach its net zero emissions by 2050.

In 2020, the site soaked up almost a quarter of the state's power generation. How that power input will change in the coming years remains unclear, particularly with several major players eyeing the region's proposed hydrogen hub for electricity-intensive projects.

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