Rio Tinto is prepared to double up on long-dated plans to whittle down its exposure to the aluminium processing cycle in Australia by adding local alumina refining operations to the suite of smelting and power assets that it has been trying to sell since 2013.

The 2013 plan to sell four smelters and the Gladstone power station as a package called Pacific Aluminium has been refreshed and is today called Project Lego. But there are now plans to add Rio's share of two Queensland alumina refineries to the mix, creating a deal that would mark the dual listed miner's exit from the downstream aluminium business in Australia.