Mining giant Rio Tinto is locked in make-or-break negotiations with the federal and NSW governments to avert the closure of Australia’s largest aluminium smelter, as a looming blowout in electricity costs threatens the plant’s survival.

Tomago Aluminium, majority-owned by Rio Tinto, on Friday said it was working with government ministers on “viable pathways” to keep the 40-year-old smelter in NSW viable beyond 2028 and safeguard the jobs of more than 1500 employees in the Hunter region.

If a taxpayer-funded support deal is reached, it will mark the fourth time the Albanese government has intervened to prop up a struggling metals processor this year after it contributed to bailouts of Glencore’s Queensland copper smelter and refinery on Wednesday, Nyrstar’s smelters in Port Pirie and Ho

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