Rio Tinto to build solar plant to power Diavik diamond mine in Canada

(Reuters) - Rio Tinto Plc will build Canada's largest solar power plant to supply electricity to its Diavik Diamond Mine in Northwest Territories, the miner said on Thursday, as it looks to achieve net zero emissions across its operations by 2050.

The plant will generate about 4,200 megawatt-hours of electricity annually, or up to 25% of Diavik's power needs, and likely cut diesel consumption at the site by about one million liters per year and reduce emissions by 2,900 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, the company said.

Construction will start in coming weeks and the plant will be fully operational in the first half of 2024.

The Anglo-Australian miner has set a target of reducing its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50% by 2030.

The Diavik mine, 100% owned and operated by Rio Tinto, is Canada's largest diamond producer and produces 3.5 million to 4.5 million carats of rough diamonds annually.

(Reporting by Arshreet Singh in Bengaluru)