History

In 1869, the Spanish government decide to sell the Rio Tinto mines. They advertised the sale in 1871 in papers across Europe and received four offers. A group of businessmen headed by Hugh Matheson, the Scottish head of a London bank, made the best offer, and on 29 March 1873, the Rio Tinto Company was registered in London with Matheson as Chairman. 

At the time, Chairman Matheson was one of the best-known men in London's financial district. But Heinrich Doetsch and businessman Wilhelm Sundheim (who already had interests in Spanish mines) were the technical experts who brought the opportunity to Matheson. They convinced him that new technical methods would enable economic mining of the site. This team’s new processing facilities and techniques transformed the ancient mine into an international success story. 

Image: Rio Tinto Company founder and inaugural Chairman, Hugh Matheson. ES.21049.AHMFRT_A-1_222b

Nearly 30 years after it’s first mentioned, talk of the great copper belt of Zambia (previously known as Northern Rhodesia) was back on the table. Our first venture into Zambia was indirectly through Minerals Separation Ltd and we went on to eventually form the Rhokana Corporation Ltd. 

"It seems probable that the difficulties in Spain may continue for some time to come, and it is, therefore, with relief that your Directors realise that your Company's future is no longer entirely dependent on what may happen here. The progress made throughout the year by the Rhokana Corporation was, in the judgment of your Directors, most satisfactory."

Sir Auckland Geddes, Chairman, 1931 

With war behind us, the next big challenge was to decide if we were a mining house, investment holding company, or both. Ultimately, this came down to appointing the right people at the right time. Sir Mark Turner, Gerald Coke, Sir Val Duncan and Franks Byers became directors and Roy Wright was appointed overseas' manager. Come 1952, our exploration team expands into South Africa and Canada and the following year Australia. 

Image: Early exploration in Australia

As the Spanish economy recovered in the early-1950s, interest grew in returning the Rio Tinto mines to Spanish ownership. On 12 August 1954, our shareholders met in London to authorise the sale of the Rio Tinto mines to the Spanish Government for £7.66 million with effect on 1 January 1955. We retained a one third shareholding in the new company, Compañia Española de Minas de Río Tinto, S.A.  

The vibrant red cliffs on the west coast of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia were first reported by Commander Matthew Flinders in 1802. But it wasn’t until July 1955 that Consolidated Zinc geologist Harry Evans identified potential commercial bauxite in the Weipa area.

Harry returned in October 1955, travelling with Lea Wassell and Indigenous guides George Wilson (Piiramu) and Old Matthew (Wakmatha) to explore the coastline in Wassell’s dinghy. On this trip Harry determined that the potential deposits were extensive and commercial bauxite mining began at Weipa in 1963. At the same time, The British Aluminium Company was interested in developing the Gove bauxite mine in the Northern Territory. Eventually developed by Alusuisse, we didn’t acquire Gove until we bought Alcan in 2007. 

Image: Early Weipa operations

The Rio Tinto Company Limited and Consolidated Zinc Corporation Limited merged to form the Rio Tinto-Zinc Corporation (RTZ), and Consolidated Zinc Pty Ltd and the Rio Tinto Mining Company of Australia Ltd merged to form ConZinc RioTinto of Australia Ltd (CRA). 

"…I wish to pay a warm tribute to the management, staff and employees at all levels throughout the group. Their loyal and enthusiastic services, and particularly their manifestly wholehearted allegiance to the new organisation, has provided the foundation on which an excellent team spirit and sense of unity has already been built."

A.M. Baer, Chairman 

Image: CRA exploration in Western Australia, 1984

Understanding the need for downstream processing, Consolidated Zinc had purchased the Bell Bay aluminium smelter from the Australian Government and the State of Tasmania in 1960. By the time of the merger, Comalco (of which we owned a 45% share) tripled the aluminium ingot capacity of the smelter. 

Image: Bell Bay aluminium ingot casting, 1955

Foreign ownership was a big issue in Australia with a strong push towards "Australianisation" of Australian assets. By this stage Hamersley Iron had been formed in association with Kaiser Steel United States, and Comalco Industries progressed towards the establishment of a major new aluminium industry in Australia and New Zealand. 

CRA Chairman Sir Maurice Mawby took advantage of the Commonwealth Government’s easing of iron ore export restrictions in 1960 by ramping up in the Pilbara. By December 1964, Hamersley Iron and the Japanese steel mills signed a letter of intent to supply 65.5 million dry long tonnes of iron ore, worth £270 million. In 1965, we signed a sales contract with Japanese steel mills for 65.5 million tonnes over the next 16 years. 

Image: Japanese partners at the Hamersley Iron No. 1 contract signing Perth, 1965

RTZ had flourished into a well and truly global company, with the bulk of operations in Australia, North America and the United Kingdom, but also around 15% in Africa. An important prospect at the time was the Palabora copper project in South Africa (39% ownership) which started operating in the north-eastern Transvaal, one of the world's greatest copper mining and metallurgical enterprises. 

We turned our attention northwards to the Territory of New Guinea in the British Solomon Islands. Using helicopters and the latest geochemical techniques, by 1967, the exploration teams discovered a very large, low-grade copper deposit at Bougainville. 

"Bougainville is the largest individual mining development yet undertaken by the CRA group with predicted total costs of approximately $400 million."

Sir Maurice Mawby, Chairman, CRA 

In just 18 months, we built the towns of Tom Price and Dampier, developed the Tom Price mine, constructed miles of railway from inland Pilbara to the coast and built a new port. On 22 August 1966, the Houn Maru sailed from Parker Point at Dampier, bound for Yawata Iron and Steel Company in Japan, carrying the first contracted shipment of iron ore by Hamersley Iron. 

Image: The Houn Maru prepares to sail to Japan with the first contracted shipment of Hamersley Iron’s iron ore

Back in London, Sir Val Duncan was overseeing RTZ's “conglomerate age” – a trend where large corporations bought companies, often in unrelated fields. Seeing ourselves as a global investment house our growth strategy included developing resources that required too much capital for most; identifying and acquiring underperforming assets; taking on projects that presented too much of a technical challenge and were too complex for everyone else; and acquiring companies that solved difficult technical challenges. 

Our coal journey in Australia continued with the acquisition of the Blair Athol mine in Central Queensland in 1968. By the mid-1970s, we took a stake in Coal & Allied, the largest coal producer in New South Wales, and by 1993 we had a majority stake. 

Image: Coal loaded on rail wagons at the Blair Athol mine, Queensland, Australia

As part of our conglomerate-age takeovers, we acquired Borax Holdings Ltd, adding this major North American resource to our portfolio and gaining the world's leading producer of borates and boron chemicals.

Image: The famous U.S. Borax 20 mule team in action

We continued to focus on becoming a global investment house and acquired Pillar, adding to our growing aluminium assets. Like Borax Holdings Ltd, RTZ Pillar was wholly owned by RTZ, so we were responsible for managing and developing its worldwide assets, including the new smelter at Anglesey in Wales (co-developed as a joint venture with Kaiser) and a wide range of aluminium-related engineering, fabrication, manufacturing and other services in the United Kingdom, Australasia, Canada and Europe.

Pillar and Comalco, which were just starting to produce in Australia, complemented each other - especially as Pillar already engaged in an end-to-end process and its strong engineering know-how provided a real boost to our existing teams.

In the 1970s, geologists started searching for diamonds in Western Australia’s Kimberley region, focusing on finding a diamond bearing pipe rather than an alluvial field. After nearly a decade, we found diamonds when panning at Smoke Creek in 1979. Following the Smoke Creek bed on foot to the top of the Argyle pipe, our geologists had a “Eureka” moment upon seeing diamonds glinting in the anthills – one of the richest diamond deposits the world had ever seen.

Image: Geologist Frank Hughes at Smoke Creek

In the Territories of New Guinea, Bougainville Copper, majority-owned at the time by CRA, was working on the Bougainville copper mine. An important part of approvals around this mining operation was negotiating a new way of working with local communities.

We reached an agreement where shares were partly reserved for direct holdings by residents – 2 million shares of 50 cents each at a premium of $1.05 per share, paid to one cent, were allotted to the newly established Panguna Development Foundation Ltd. The New Guinea Administration had a 20% interest in Bougainville Copper, and Bougainville Mining had 49,000 public shareholders. 

"Great credit reflects on all those who have been connected with this massive project which not only involved complex social and political problems but also posed substantial engineering challenges."

Maurice Mawby, Chairman, CRA 

Image: Queen Elizabeth II visits Panguna, Territories of New Guinea, 1974

By 1972, Comalco was a booming aluminium business. We were mining bauxite at scale at Weipa, owned the Bell Bay alumina refinery and aluminium smelter, and had aluminium semi-fabrication and marketing facilities in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and New Zealand.  

In association with Kaiser Aluminium and others, we built the world's largest alumina refinery at Gladstone and began production at our aluminium smelter in Southland, New Zealand, which started production in 1971. At this time, we also established the solar salt recovery operation now known as Dampier Salt. Six years later Comalco sold its share of Dampier Salt to CRA, which then held full ownership. 

Image: Dry salt being stacked ready for loading on a ship at Mistaken Island in Dampier, 1972

The first United Nations' environment conference took place in Stockholm in 1972, centred on issues like chemical pollution, atomic bomb testing and whaling. Having one of the world's largest uranium deposits and mines in both Australia and Canada, we joined the debate, setting up our first Environmental Affairs Group. By 1974, we were actively reporting to shareholders about environmental issues. 

After 11 years at the helm of CRA, Sir Maurice Mawby retired and was well remembered for his hands-on approach to his job and leadership. 

"He was a nature conservationist 30 years before the phrase came into vogue. He backed the botanist, Albert Morris, in the pioneering plan to stabilize the drifting sand around Broken Hill and curb the dust storms that almost suffocated the city. At weekends in the late 1930s he himself did much of the digging of holes, the filling of tins with soil, and the planting of native shrubs."

Tribute to Sir Maurice Mawby by Geoffrey Blainey AO 

Image: Broken Hill after regeneration, 1961

Our first ever shipment to China was delivered to the Shanghai No.1 steel mill, now part of China Baowu, the world’s top steel producer. The first shipment of Pilbara iron ore was also sent to Korea that year. 

"…the People's Republic of China continued to attract world attention in the area of new business opportunities. Our Group has long been aware of the potential of the Chinese market, and we are giving close attention to the medium- and long-term prospects with that country." 

Rod Carnegie, Chairman and Chief Executive 

Image: A delegation from the People’s Republic of China, 1974

Ten years after developing the Rössing uranium mine in Namibia – the world's largest mine of its kind at the time – we began production. Within 2 years, we established the Rössing Foundation, which continues to work closely with communities in the Erongo, Oshana and Omaheke regions.  

"The common loyalty and purpose, without which no nation can survive, depends on having something worthwhile to defend, such as a decent standard of living and individual freedom to enjoy it. The one thing a corporate can do for a country is to provide education to the people of that country."

Ronald (Ronnie) Walker, First Chairman of Rössing Uranium Mine

We purchased the remaining 50% of Dampier Salt in Western Australia. 

"For CRA, the salt operations are modest profit earners and introduce a renewable resource based on solar energy."

Rod Carnegie, Chairman and Chief Executive 

Image: Crystallizers at Dampier Salt, Australia

In our last “conglomerate age” acquisition, RTZ Chairman Sir Anthony Tuke launched a hostile takeover of United Kingdom-based company Thos W Ward which owned the outstanding shares in Tunnel Cement. Soon after, we decided we needed to focus on mining and mining related endeavours - a decision that really set the foundations of the company we know today led by Sir Derek Birkin and Sir Alistair Frame.  

“We have been able to invest selectively in first rate prospects at a low point in the metals business cycle and other opportunities should present themselves. We are committed to replenishing the Groups’ mining portfolio for the next century. We have proved we can stay profitable despite depressed prices, and when many other mining companies have struggled to survive.”

Sir Alistair Frame, Chairman, 1985 

Throughout the 1980s, Australian Indigenous peoples were excluded from decision making processes in relation to developments on their land. This also meant that Traditional Owners were not consulted or engaged about protecting or managing cultural heritage, and Indigenous peoples’ rights and interests were not fully guaranteed or recognised by Australian law. In 1982, despite this context of societal and legal prejudice, we had begun to recognise the importance of working meaningfully and respectfully with local communities and Indigenous peoples.  

"Involvement with Aboriginal communities adjacent to operations is a continuing aspect of our enterprises. The most obvious outcomes of this interaction are the goods and services provided by the Company in the neighbourhood, but the principal effects are the less tangible relationships created through consultation, employment, training and the understandings that emerge."

From the CRA Annual Report 

Today, we know that the communities where we live and work are fundamental to our business. It’s essential that we contribute to a shared future and positive legacy by developing lasting relationships with people, learning about and supporting their goals and aspirations, avoiding or mitigating adverse impacts and respecting connections to land. 

Image: Land and Sea Management Program officers at the Amrun bauxite project, Queensland, Australia

Australia’s second largest aluminium smelter, the Boyne Smelters Limited (BSL) joint venture, opened in Queensland in 1982.  BSL recycled around 156 million aluminium cans every year and became Australia’s largest aluminium can recycling facility. 

Comalco started the Cash for Cans aluminium can recycling for the general public by inspiring children and community groups to collect their cans. We established buy-back centres where users could return their cans in exchange for cash. Much like modern container-refund schemes, we raised significant funds for community and charity projects across Australia. 

Image: Creative ways to recycle aluminium cans in the early 1980s

We opened an office in Beijing, marking an important step in our burgeoning relationship with China. 

Image: The inaugural team at the Rio Tinto Beijing office, China, 1983

By the mid-1980s, environmental concerns and expectations were increasing, with the Rio de Janeiro United Nations Earth Summit on the radar. Finally going ahead in 1992, it would see 179 countries come together to focus on the impact of human socio-economic activities on the environment.  

"RTZ and operating companies within the RTZ Group have always been aware of the need for special attention to be paid to the environmental consequences of their operations…We are, nevertheless, conscious that some people hold deep and strong beliefs that our activities are in themselves damaging. Although we understand these views and welcome continuing debate, the close attention paid to environmental needs by group companies ensure that, in the final balance, the benefits brought, and the contributions made to the communities and countries concerned far outweigh any environmental effects. Shareholders will understand that environmental issues are a complex mixture of technical, social, political and personal views. The fact is that the mining, metallurgical and industrial operations of Group companies provide raw materials vital to the sustenance of modern society. At the same time, they contribute significantly to the economic well-being of the countries on which they operate, not least by creating valuable employment opportunities."

Sir Alistair Frame, Chairman, RTZ 

Image: Environmental rehabilitation started to gain importance in the 1970s and 1980s as nurseries were established to grow native plants

We expanded our copper operations with a joint venture with BHP for the Minera Escondida mine in Chile – the world’s largest copper mine – and the Neves Corvo copper and zinc mine in Portugal. 

Image: One of the massive sulphide ore leaching pads under construction at Escondida in 2005. These biological leaching pads use bacteria to convert sulphide ore into copper.

Taking just 6 years from discovery to completion, the Argyle Diamond Mine was fully up and running by 1985. Argyle was a fly in, fly out operation – this was common in oil and gas at the time but may have been a first for mining.

We established Argyle Diamond Sales in Antwerp, the diamond capital of the world, to support Argyle rough diamonds’ sales and marketing. In 1989, we opened a Mumbai office, reflecting India’s importance in the cutting and polishing of Argyle diamonds. 

Image: Uncut diamonds, Rio Tinto India

During its silver jubilee year, shareholders agreed to change the name from The Rio Tinto-Zinc Corporation PLC to The RTZ Corporation PLC. 

Hamersley Iron and Sinosteel signed the Mount Channar iron ore project deal, heralding an important milestone in the evolution of China and Australia’s economic relationship. In 2010, an extension of the joint venture was signed for a further five years from 2012 to 2017. 

"From the earliest days of my prime ministership in March 1983, a commitment to develop the enmeshment of the Australian economy with Asia in general, with China in particular, was a top priority...[this] could be considered probably one of the most significant Australian joint partnership ventures..."

Bob Hawke, 2012 

Image: General secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Mr Hu Yaobang with Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke at Channar iron ore project, Western Australia, 1985

Combining our lead, zinc and silver interest with North Broken Hill Peko, we formed the new company Pasminco Ltd in 1988.  In 2000, we acquired North Broken Hill Peko (North Ltd), but the following year, a combination of low commodity prices and high debt saw the company placed in voluntary administration.

After operating for more than 15 years, serious problems started arising in Bougainville. A series of disturbances at the end of 1989 caused damage to property and lost workdays, and escalated the following year, ending in civil war, tragedy and the closure of the Panguna mine. 

"1989 would have been an even more exceptional year had it not been tragically marred by the events on Bougainville which led to the closure of the copper and gold mine. The toll in human lives and misery has been great. The economic repercussions within Bougainville have been severe and are continuing to affect the rest of PNG...It is our fervent hope that 1990 will be a year of reconciliation and that Bougainville Copper will resume its roles as an important contributor to the growth of PNG.”

John Uhrig, Chairman  

By 1989, we were ready to focus solely on mining. We sold all oil and gas assets and set our sights on BP Minerals. For US$3.7 billion, we acquired Kennecott's Bingham Canyon copper and gold mine in Utah, United States, making us one of the world's largest gold producers outside of South Africa.  

The purchase also secured QIT Fer et Titane in Quebec, Canada (founded 1950) and interests in QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM) and Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) in South Africa (mineral sands operation founded 1976) – making us a significant player in titanium dioxide feedstock used by the pigment industry. 

Image: Haul trucks at the Kennecott copper mine, Utah, United States

We sold our interest in Rio Algom Ltd, taking us out of the Canada and Australia uranium business. Uranium would soon be back on the books in Australia in 2000 when we acquired Energy Resources of Australia as part of the North Ltd acquisition. By 2007, we were the world's second largest uranium miner until the sale of the Rössing uranium mine in Namibia in 2019 to CNNC. 

Our Bundoora Technical Development Centre in Melbourne opened in 1992. It plays a vital role in developing the next generation of technical practitioners for our business, with many going on to forge successful careers within our operations and product groups around the world. 

"Over the past 25 years, our investments in process development, mineralogy and wastewater and tailings have paid off. We have successfully partnered with the business to develop and de-risk new or complex metallurgical processes across most of Rio Tinto’s commodities and sites." 

Jared Osborne, Rio Tinto’s General Manager Technical Development, Growth and Innovation

Image: Research at the Bundoora Technical Development Centre in Victoria, Australia

After the world emerged from the late-1980s recession, coal became an important commodity. We acquired Nerco and the Cordero Mining Company in the United States and set up Rio Tinto Energy America. 

"Powder River Basin - This region contains vast deposits of coal whose low sulphur content will be increasingly appreciated in an environmental sensitive world."

RTZ Derek Birkin, Chairman and Robert Wilson, Chief Executive 

As part of our continuing strategy from 1989 to focus solely on mining-related activities, we sold RTZ Pillar for £900 million. As an aluminium manufacturer, Pillar helped us rapidly enter the aluminium market and engage in the end-to-end process at the perfect time; when our Anglesey Smelter in Wales had just been built and Comalco started to produce in Australia. 

In a ground-breaking strategic partnership with the Indian diamond industry and the world’s largest diamond jewellery market in the United States, the Indo Argyle Diamond Council was formed in 1993 and became a key part of Argyle’s champagne and cognac market development activities.

Differentiating diamonds based on colour was a key element of Argyle’s marketing strategy.  

Argyle broke away from the De Beers cartel in 1996 and continued its campaign to establish new markets for coloured diamonds. We developed expos, jewellery design competitions and show-stopping objects such as the Kutchinsky Egg to shine a light on Argyle’s unique coloured gems. The annual Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender became the most anticipated diamond sale in the world. 

Image: Pink, red and blue diamonds from the iconic Pink Diamond Tender

In one of the most significant events in our history, The RTZ Corporation PLC (RTZ) merged with ConZinc RioTinto of Australia Ltd (CRA) in 1995 to form RTZ-CRA in a dual listed company structure in Australia and the United Kingdom. 

By 1997, the DLC, one of the largest mining companies globally changed their names to Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited 

"Why Rio Tinto? We feel it is the obvious name because it is the common part of both companies' original names…It not only draws on our common heritage but underlines the singleness of purpose which characterises our actions."

Robert Wilson, Executive chairman and Leon Davis, Chief Executive 

Image: CRA officially becomes Rio Tinto

The mid-1990s marked a distinct change in direction around our approach to community relations, specifically the desire for active social engagement with local communities. In 1995, our chief executive Leon Davis decided to publicly commit to working with Native Title legislation in Australia and engaging with Traditional Owners because it was 'the right thing to do'.

This was unusually progressive for a mining company at the time, and marked the start of our continuing, ongoing commitment to work closely with the communities and Traditional Owners of the lands we operate on. 

“Let me say this bluntly. CRA is satisfied with the central tenet of the Native Title Act. In CRA we believe that there are major opportunities for growth in outback Australia which will only be realised with the full cooperation of all interested parties. This Government initiative has laid the basis for better exploration access and thus increased the probability that the next decade will see a series of CRA operations developed in active partnership with Aboriginal people.” 

Leon Davis, Chief Executive

Image: Amrun Land and Sea Management Program employees carrying out turtle surveys at Amrun Operations, Weipa, Australia

We released our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Policy and launched the Rio Tinto Aboriginal Foundation. The following year, we signed the Yandicoogina Land Use Agreement in Western Australia, a precursor to later Indigenous land use agreements, but our first land use agreement with Traditional Owners after the Native Title Act was introduced. 

"The challenge for Yandi was that we did not know what native title really was at the time, nobody knew what actual rights these people had, so nobody knew how to value compensation. What was a fair deal? We had to do a lot of work to come up with what would be considered a reasonable deal and develop a structure that would create a stream of community benefits during the life of the mine, with a mechanism to preserve some of this for the future."

Peter Eggleston, Walking the Land Together 

We were granted exploration permits and established Simfer S.A. – the start of our journey searching for iron ore in the Republic of Guinea. 

On 17 July 1998, a disaster began to unfold at our talc mine beneath the village of Lassing in central Austria. Deep underground, the mine had started to collapse – and as the tunnels filled with water, mud and debris, 24-year-old miner Georg Hainzl was trapped 60 metres below the surface.

Above ground, in Lassing village, a rescue crew of 10 assembled and attempted to prop up the mine’s shafts when a second, massive cave-in began. The mine flooded with roughly 70,000 cubic metres of mud, creating a crater at the surface that pulled down houses and trees. Georg was found alive and rescued through a drill hole after 10 days, but despite another 3 weeks of rescue attempts, tragically all 10 of the initial rescue team died. Their bodies could not be recovered, and in 2000 the mine was permanently closed. 

With its profound impact, the Lassing disaster was a catalyst for major change in the way we manage safety. This included the development of our first Group Safety Standards. 

As part of our acquisition of BP Minerals in 1989, we acquired the world's largest ilmenite deposit in Lac Tio, Quebec, Canada as well as the huge Metallurgical Complex at Sorel-Tracy.

In 1998, the Lac Tio mine (opened 1950), expanded to meet growing ore demand. The Metallurgical Complex, also established in 1950, expanded to process the ilmenite ore from the original mine as well as QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM) from 2008.

The Complex also included the Quebec Metals Powders Plant (1968), Steel Plant (1986), UpGraded Slag (UGS) Plant (1997) and SO2 Recovery Plant (2014), and the high purity scandium oxide at its commercial scale development plant (2021). 

Image: Aerial view of the Metallurgical Complex in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, Canada

In 1999, we helped establish the Global Mining Initiative, a major program of consultation on sustainable development, involving both the mining industry and external organisations. After taking a leadership position in the Global Mining Initiative, we stepped up in 2001 to chair the new industry body on sustainable development, the London-based International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM). 

"We hope that this initiative will service to dispel some of the myths about the negative aspects of the industry but, simultaneously, cause all of us in the industry to focus on areas of performance where improvement is necessary and achievable."

Robert Wilson, Chairman 

Image: Kakadu Native Plants employees maintaining native saplings for the Ranger Mine rehabilitation areas, Northern Territory, Australia

At the turn of the new century, we focused fully on tier one acquisitions, starting with North Ltd. The acquisition brought Cliffs Robe River Iron Associates assets in the Pilbara and significantly expanded our iron ore assets, including mines, rail and port capacity. Other assets included Northparkes and Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) in Australia, and the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC).  

In 2000, in a show of confidence in existing assets, we took full control of Comalco and acquired Ashton Mining's 40% share of Argyle. The Ranger Uranium Mine in the Northern Territory, operated by Energy Resources Australia, stopped production in 2021. 

Image: Early days at Cliffs Robe River in the Pilbara, Western Australia

We signed the Western Cape Communities Co-Existence Agreement, known more commonly as the WCCCA, between 11 Traditional Owner groups, four Shire Councils, Comalco, The Queensland State Government and the Cape York Land Council. 

"Rio Tinto has been learning from each agreement. We learnt from the WCCCA, which went into the Argyle agreement, which then went into the Pilbara agreements…The important thing for us to recognise is that these agreements have to be kept 'live', so in the future, learning from the next ones will come back into the Pilbara and they will be enhanced."

Joanne Farrell, 2018 

In 1994, diamonds were discovered about 200 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, at the bottom of Lac de Gras in Canada's Northwest Territories. In 2001, we started construction at the Diavik Diamond Mine.

We developed award-winning engineering technology and techniques to hold back the waters of Lac de Gras so we could reach the diamond-bearing pipes at the bottom of the lake without blemishing its pristine quality. We signed Participation Agreements with 5 local Indigenous groups who oversee capacity-building opportunities, to ensure benefits continue well after mine closure. 

Image: The Diavik Diamond Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories

In 2002, Hamersley Iron and Baosteel Group set up the Bao-HI joint venture to supply 10 million tonnes of iron ore per year over 20 years. It marked our continuing and vital partnership with China. 

Resolution Copper Mining assumed control of the Magma Mine site, located in Superior, Arizona in the United States, and saw potential to reuse the historic mine to develop a rich new copper deposit.  

Resolution Copper started the rigorous and lengthy permitting process in 2013, followed by a decade of construction. To date, project partners (55% by Rio Tinto and 45% by BHP) have spent over US$2 billion to develop and permit the project. 

Image: The Resolution Copper Mine in the United States

Despite good intent, the Good Neighbour Agreement drawn up in 1980 between Argyle and local Traditional Owners proved inadequate over time. A new Participation Agreement was negotiated in 2004, providing wealth for future generations, supporting social development in the region and promoting increased economic participation through training, employment and business opportunities. The Traditional Owners were also given the final say on whether the proposed underground mine should go ahead. 

Near the town of Loznica in Western Serbia, we discovered and identified the Jadar lithium and borates deposit.  

We approved a US$1 billion investment in 2005 to develop mining facilities and build a port at QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM), established in Madagascar in 1986. 

Image: QIT Madagascar Minerals employees at the Port d'Ehoala

We formed a strategic partnership with Ivanhoe Mines to construct and operate Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia. The site’s copper deposit went on to become one of the world's largest copper mines. However, it was not without controversy, with civil groups protesting the development the following year. 

Image: Shaft #1 at Oyu Tolgoi, Khanbogd, Mongolia

We established Rio Tinto Procurement Singapore (2006) and Rio Tinto Marine (2007). Today, our Marine team uses its expertise, precision scheduling systems and global communication network to orchestrate and operate a fleet of more than 230 ships that transport millions of tonnes of product across multiple continents, making Rio Tinto one of the largest dry bulk shippers in the world.

As a member of the First Movers Coalition, a global initiative led by the World Economic Forum and the United States’ government to help commercialise zero-carbon technologies by harnessing purchasing power and supply chains, we commit to buying more zero-emissions fuel for our own shipping fleet and make greater use of suppliers who use zero-emission fuels in shipping and aviation.

Image: The vibrant Singapore skyline

We acquired Alcan, making us a world leader in aluminium. Some of the Canadian assets we acquired included the Arvida smelter (1926) which produces molten aluminium; Isle Maligne powerhouse (CIM), our oldest hydroelectric power station which, since 1926 has played an essential role in managing the level of Lac Saint-Jean; and the Vaudreuil Alumina Refinery (1936), one of the last alumina refineries to operate without being located near a bauxite mine.  

We also acquired the Arvida Research and Development Centre (ARDC), a hub of scientific innovation since 1946 and one of Canada's largest privately funded research and development centres. Research projects continue at ARDC today, and are conducted in partnership with our sites, various universities and our equipment manufacturers.  

Image: Rollers spare parts for conveyors at unloading, wet bauxite grinding sector, Vaudreuil Works, Canada

In 2008, we unveiled the Mine of the Future™ vision, which included autonomous haulage systems (AHS) trucks, autonomous drill systems (ADS) and AutohaulTM, the automated train system (deployed in 2019).

Lauded as “creating next-generation systems and technologies to drive Rio Tinto to become a global leader in fully integrated, autonomous mining”, the Mine of the Future™ project aimed to improve employee safety; increase productivity; lower energy consumption; and reduce environmental impact.  

“The Mine of the Future™ technology and innovation project in WA remains a top priority whatever the market conditions – it is one of the world's biggest private sector trials of robotics and it will transform the efficiency and safety of the way we mine.”

Tom Albanese, Chief Executive  

Image: Autohaul driverless trains, Pilbara, Western Australia

QIT Madagascar Minerals began operating in 2008, and a year later the first ship was loaded with Madagascar ore and docks at the Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium - Quebec Operations terminal, ready to be processed at our Metallurgical Complex in Quebec. 

Image: Port d'Ehoala, Fort Dauphin, Madagascar

Tragedy struck when a helicopter crashed at our La Granja copper project in Peru, killing 10 people. A further 8 deaths at businesses we manage took the total to a heart-breaking 18 lives lost in 2008. 

As with the Lassing disaster 10 years earlier, the La Granja tragedy was a turning point in our safety journey. It led to the creation of our Aviation Safety Standard and accelerated our engagement with industry peers and the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) to improve aviation safety. 

By 2008 the world economy began to slide into the Global Financial Crisis. In February 2009, we announced a strategic partnership with leading Chinese diversified resource company Chinalco who had agreed to invest up to US$19.5 billion in cash and commitments. Come June, the Boards of both companies announced they would no longer pursue the transaction. 

“Looking at the year as a whole, our attempt to establish a strategic partnership with the largest Chinese resources group and our largest shareholder, Chinalco, was undeniably a very significant event for Rio Tinto. The proposed transaction would have allowed us to establish a highly important strategic link with the Chinese market, whilst at the same time enabling us to significantly recapitalise our balance sheet…the board considered the Chinalco proposition both strategically and financially attractive. The transaction was nevertheless highly controversial…It became clear to me that many shareholders had considerable misgivings about the proposed transaction. These concerns related not only to the financial terms of the transaction, but there were high levels of discomfort about the structure of our relationship with Chinalco. The board could not ignore the strength and depth of these feelings although, in deciding not to proceed with that transaction, we deeply regretted the loss of a unique opportunity to establish a strategic partnership that would have fundamentally changed our relationship with our largest customer base. We will continue to work towards extending our relationship with Chinalco and to pursue business opportunities that may be to our mutual benefit.”

Jan du Plessis, Chairman 

In June 2009, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton signed a non-binding agreement to establish a production joint venture encompassing the entirety of both companies’ Western Australian iron ore assets. Plans to progress the joint venture continued until October 2010 when a joint decision was made to end the proposal, primarily due to indications from global regulators that it would not be approved. 

We opened Madagascar's second biggest port, the Ehoala Port in Fort Dauphin, which acted as a catalyst for economic development as a well as a channel to export QMM's product. 

Image: QIT Madagascar Minerals employees at the Port d'Ehoala

We started managing the Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia, working in partnership to realise the Government’s vision – that the project “must be the most responsible, transparent and safe project and that the investors must respect the interests of the Mongolian people”. 

Image: Employees at Oyu Tolgoi

By the end of 2010, we were developing key strategic partnerships with research centres around the world by establishing the following Centres:  

- The Rio Tinto Centre for Mine Automation in collaboration with the Australia Centre for Field Robotics at the University of Sydney  

- The Rio Tinto Centre for Advanced Mineral Sorting in partnership with the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre at The University of Queensland 

- The Rio Tinto centre for Materials and Sensing at Curtin University Perth 

- The Rio Tinto Centre for Advanced Mineral Recovery in collaboration with the Imperial College in London 

- The Rio Tinto Centre for Underground Mine Construction in collaboration with the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation in Canada 

"This collaboration is in keeping with our long-term commitment to innovation. It's part of our strategy to collect the world's experts and develop mutually beneficial partnerships to develop technologies which address the future requirements of Rio Tinto. Put simply, there is no other mining operation in the world attempting to take the approach that we are on this scale."

John McGagh, Head of Innovation 

We opened our Iron Ore Operations Centre in Perth, Australia and by 2012, rolled out our automated haul trucks in partnership with Komatsu at our Yandicoogina mine in the Pilbara, Western Australia.  

Image: Train controller at our Operations Centre Perth, Western Australia

We expanded our Dampier Port in 2010, increasing our Pilbara iron ore annual capacity to 230 million tonnes annually. 

Image: Dampier iron ore port, Western Australia.

In December 2010, we began a takeover of the Riversdale coal assets in Mozambique, seeing it as the world’s next major coal basin. Come January 2013, we announced US$3 billion worth of impairments relating to Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique after finding that the development of infrastructure to support the coal assets was more challenging than anticipated. We had sought to transport coal by barge along the Zambezi River, but at the time, this option did not receive formal approvals. By 2014, we had divested all Mozambique coal assets. 

At the same time, there were further impairments including reductions in carrying values of our aluminium assets in the range of a further $US10-11 billion. 

As a result, our CEO and other senior executives stood down by mutual agreement with the Board.  

“The Rio Tinto Board fully acknowledges that a write-down of this scale in relation to the relatively recent Mozambique acquisition is unacceptable. We are also deeply disappointed to have to take a further substantial write-down in our aluminium business, albeit in an industry that continues to experience significant adverse changes globally,” Rio Tinto chairman Jan du Plessis, 17 January, 2013 

Our subsidiary Simfer S.A. and the Government of Guinea signed a Settlement Agreement in April, securing our mining title in Guinea at the Simandou iron ore project. The following year, we formed a joint venture with Chinalco’s listed subsidiary Chalco to develop and operate the project. 

Image: Simandou employees in Guinea

To secure the future for both the Pilbara iron ore business and local Traditional Owners, we signed new Participation Agreements and introduced Regional Standards. As well as this, we released our first Australian Reconciliation Action Plan. 

"…these Agreements are critical. For Rio Tinto they secure decades-long platforms of business stability and certainty. For Aboriginal people, the Agreements assist in creating a future where their culture and law is sustained and celebrated, and where their children and grandchildren have much improved opportunity for health and education and, as a result, jobs and wealth creation."

Sam Walsh, Chief Executive, Iron Ore and Australia, April 2011 

Image: The Polly Farmer Foundation Follow the Dream program in Tom Price, Western Australia

We officially registered the Rio Tinto and Chinalco joint venture for exploration in China, Chinalco Rio Tinto Exploration Co. Ltd (CRTX). 

Discussions around renewable energy gained momentum as solar energy systems were installed across 30 of our sites across Australia, the United States and Africa.  

At our Diavik Diamond Mine, we commissioned a 4-turbine, award-winning wind farm. The CA$31 million project was our first wind generation facility and the world’s largest wind-diesel hybrid power facility.  

Since coming online in 2012, it has offset Diavik’s diesel use by more than 38 million litres and reduced overall greenhouse gas emissions by 105,000 tonnes (2012–2021). 

Image: One of the 4 Diavik Diamond Mine wind turbines

We supplied the gold, silver and copper to produce the 4,700 London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games' medals. The metal was supplied from Kennecott Utah Copper in the United States and Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia. 

Image: Rio Tinto metals were used for the London 2012 Olympic medals

We doubled our holding in the Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) South African mineral sands mining and processing operation, buying out BHP Billiton's 37% equity interest. The remaining 26% of RBM was owned by a consortium of local communities and businesses (24%) and RBM employees (2%), in line with South Africa's Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment legislation. In 2011 RBM, one of the world's lowest cost producers at the time produced 14% of global titanium dioxide feedstock sales and 18% of global zircon sales.  

Image: RBM employees

Our Yarwun Alumina Refinery, opened in 2004, expanded in 2012, effectively doubling production to more than 3 million tonnes of alumina per year. 

Image: Our Yarwun alumina refinery in Queensland, Australia

Our Aluminium Technology Services (ATS) team in France developed AP60 aluminium smelting technology, which generates 7 times less greenhouse gases than the industry average. Between 2013 and November 2021, the initial AP60 technology pots produce more than 465,000 tonnes of low-carbon aluminium. 

In April 2013, our Bingham Canyon copper mine in Utah, United States experienced the largest mine slide event in its 110-year history. Proactive monitoring, safety training and emergency preparedness mitigated the impacts of the slide and prevented it from becoming a much larger disaster. No one was injured and less than 10% of our equipment was damaged. 

Image: The largest mine slide event in the history of the Bingham Canyon copper mine, US

By the 2000s, our coal assets occupied central positions in coal fields in Queensland and New South Wales and our products – thermal coal, semi-soft coking coal and hard coking coal – were in high demand in international markets. At our peak of production in 2013, our 6 operating mines extracted 34 million tonnes of coal (Rio Tinto share) for export.

The first convoy of 16 trucks, carrying 576 tonnes of 'Oyu Tolgoi – Product of Mongolia' copper concentrate departed for the Gashuun-Sukhait border crossing and on to the first commercial shipments. The total size of the initial sale was approximately 5,800 tonnes of copper concentrate. 

Image: Oyu Tolgoi copper concentrate being transported for shipment.

In 2014, we signed 2 Agreements with the Innu Nation (Sheshatshiu and Natuashish) of Labrador and the NunatuKavut Community Council, also in Labrador. The Agreements provided access to training, education, employment, business opportunities and other development programs. The Iron Ore Company of Canada became part of our business when we acquired North Ltd in 2000 and has a proud history dating back to 1949.   

Image: Agreements with the Innu Nation and the NunatuKavut Community Council

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a not-for-profit which runs the global disclosure system to manage environmental impacts, presented us a leadership award in 2014 for the largest absolute carbon reduction in the ASX 200. 

A vital part of our safety journey was the critical risk management (CRM) fatality prevention program, which we trialled at the Kennecott Copper mine in 2014. The CRM programme provides a means to verify that critical controls are well-designed, understood, in place and working at the front line – where the risk exists. By 2017, CRM was rolled out across more than 60 of our sites and during its first year, we completed more than 1.4 million critical control verifications. 

Image: Employee using Critical Risk Management application at Parker Point Port, Dampier

We signed the Paris Pledge for Action on Climate Change and committed to extend our greenhouse gas emissions intensity target period to 2020, aiming for a 24% reduction from the 2008 baseline. The following year our shareholders pushed for more disclosure on our climate change approach.  

Following a C$6 billion dollar modernisation concluding in 2015, we transformed BC Works Kitimat original smelter from its original 1954 structure into one of the most efficient, lowest-cost aluminium smelters in the world, powered exclusively by clean, renewable hydropower.   

Image: Employees check the temperature of molten aluminium going into the straight-line casting machine at Kitimat

Launched in 2015, Petits Lingots Saguenay (PLS) produced value-added product-remelt ingots for the North American automotive and transportation industry. At the heart of regional economic development and in partnership with small and medium enterprises in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region, Dubuc was a niche product development centre, used as an industrial platform for testing recipes for other casting centres.

Image: Employees check the temperature of molten aluminium going into the straight-line casting machine at Kitimat

We uncovered North America’s largest gem-quality rough diamond – the Diavik Foxfire – weighing in at 187.66 carats.

The gem was showcased at Kensington Palace and the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC, before being cut and polished into two 37-carat, pear-shaped diamond earrings, sold at auction in 2018 for US$1.3 million. 

The following year, we reached another milestone at Diavik – 100 million carats mined.  

Image: North America’s largest gem-quality rough diamond – the Diavik Foxfire – weighing in at 187.66 carats

Almost 30 years after leaving the Panguna mine due to the tragic civil war, in 2016 we transferred our 53.83% majority shareholding in Bougainville Copper Limited to the Autonomous Bougainville Government and the Papua New Guinea Government for no consideration, enabling each to hold an equal share of 36.4% of Bougainville Copper Limited. 

We collaborate with the brightest minds around the globe to tackle industry challenges – some of the largest we face in our 150-year history – and the most important for us to solve. As a result, in 2016 we launched the industry's first certified low-carbon aluminium, RenewAl, and by 2019, we had created Revolution-Al, a new alloy helping to reduce CO2 emissions from cars. 

Image: Arvida Research and Development Centre, Canada

We created the Pioneering Pitch, a program that encourages employees to share new, creative ideas on how to strengthen and improve the business. They then pitch to a panel of peers, who may award up to $250,000 for each idea and expert support to implement the best. So far, over $35 million in potential value to our business has been identified, in addition to benefits from safety, health and social license. 

We formalised a contract with Minmetals in 2018 to establish a 50:50 joint venture to explore for world-class mineral deposits in China. This marked another important milestone in our long-term partnership with China. 

The Rio Tinto Queensland Research and Development Centre (QRDC) relocated from Brisbane to the Yarwun Refinery in 2018. QRDC is our global centre for technology, research and development in the alumina refining process. It provides laboratory and technical support to Queensland Alumina Limited and Yarwun Alumina refineries, northern Australia bauxite mines, and to the Rio Tinto Commercial group supporting bauxite sales into China. 

Image: Yarwun Alumina Refinery laboratory in Queensland, Australia

After divesting Coal & Allied in 2017, we became the first major mining company to stop producing coal.

In 2018, we became one of the Founders of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), and the only aluminium producer to have our product ASI-certified as responsible throughout its lifecycle. ASI certification is made possible with collaboration across the aluminium value chain, including Nespresso, Flora & Fauna International (FFI), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the International Union on the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). 

The Iron Ore Company of Canada finished the Wabush 3 expansion project in 2018, and production began in the new Moss pit, named after Dr AE Moss, a geologist who helped survey IOC deposits in the 1940s.  

Image: Moss Pit, IOC's newest open pit located in Labrador City, Canada

QMM completed the first shipment of sand containing monazite, a by-product of ilmenite mining. Monazite, a rare earth element, is used in renewable energy technologies like high-powered permanent magnets used in wind turbines and electric vehicles. 

Image: Employees at the Mineral Separating Plant at Mandena site, Madacasgar

Remote Operations began at The Iron Ore Company of Canada in 2018, allowing control room operators to co-locate; improving control and optimisation functions for fixed plants; increasing value chain situational awareness; and ensuring quicker response capability. 

Image: Loaded rail cars at IOC Operations in Labrador City, Canada

We formed ELYSIS in 2018, an unprecedented partnership between us and Alcoa, which delivers a disruptive technology for the aluminium smelting industry.

ELYSIS eliminates all direct greenhouse gas emissions from the aluminium smelting process. It is the first technology ever to emit oxygen as its by-product. 

Apple helped facilitate the collaboration which also included investment from both the Government of Canada and Government of Quebec. 

Image: ELYSIS aluminium production eliminates all direct greenhouse gases, developed as a result of a partnership between Rio Tinto and Alcoa

We continued to ramp up our focus on decarbonisation by setting an ambition to reach net zero emissions by 2050 along with new targets – 15% reduction in absolute emissions and 30% reduction in emissions intensity by 2030, and carbon neutral growth.

We introduced our Safety Maturity Model (SMM) to expand on our successful critical risk management (CRM) programme and strengthen our safety culture.

As a blueprint for safety, SMM brings together the best practices from across our business in leadership and engagement, learning and improvement, risk management and work planning.

By defining what good looks like, the model outlines how we can lead for safety in a way that can be easily understood, adapted and adopted by each site. With the SMM, we not only work towards preventing fatalities, but also on keeping our employees and contractors safe, and safeguarding the environment. 

Image: Critical Risk Management signs in the Oyu Tolgoi underground copper mine in Mongolia

Our Kemano hydro facility in Northern British Columbia provides power to the Kitimat aluminium smelter. The Kemano powerhouse is built 500 metres inside Mt. Dubose, excavated from solid rock and is the length of 2 football fields and, at the time of construction, was the largest underground power plant in the world, housing 8 generators.

In partnership with First Nations groups’ Cheslatta Carrier Nation and Haisla Nation, we started work in 2019 on a backup tunnel to the existing single 16km tunnel. The tunnel boring machine is named tl'ughus, in deference to the local legend of the giant monster snake boring through the mountains in the area. 

We endorsed the Uluru Statement from the Heart. 

We signed a partnership agreement with the National University of Mongolia to sponsor the Startup Lab Program, which sought to foster entrepreneurship among students. Over 3 years, 137 students and teachers participated in the program and registered 10 new intellectual properties. We renewed our partnership agreement in 2022 for another 3 years.

Image: Signing of the renewed partnership agreement in 2022

We were heartened in 2019 to achieve a fatality-free year. Despite all the challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, we also achieved consecutive years of zero fatalities in 2020, 2021 and 2022. 

"Safety is the core of how we operate each and every day. Nothing matters more than the safety and wellbeing of our employees and contractors, and I am pleased that we have experienced our third consecutive year with no fatalities at our managed operations. While this is good news, being able to go home to one’s family at the end of the shift should be a given, not an achievement.” 

Jakob Stausholm, Chief Executive, 2022 

While we recognise this achievement, we remember those we lost. And when it comes to safety, we can always do better – we want everyone to go home safe and well after every shift, every day. 

Image: A vacation student working with her mentor at the Brisbane office practicing covid safety

In Canada, both the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) and Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium – Quebec Operations signed agreements with Innu communities in 2019.

RTFT signed the "Uauitshitun" or “mutual support” agreement with the Ekuanitshit community to generate economic development opportunities. A year later, IOC and the Uashat mak Mani-utenam and Matimekush-Lac John Innu communities signed a reconciliation and collaboration life of mine agreement titled “USSINIUN”, which means “renewal”. 

Image: The Uauitshitun - Ekuanitshit people and Rio Tinto Fer et Titane sign an historic partnership agreement

Conscious of the part we play in creating a sustainable future for all, we are decarbonising our business and investing in technologies to help our customers reach their own climate goals. 

In 2019, we progressed work with our partners in China, Japan and South Korea to explore, develop and demonstrate technologies to transition to a low-carbon emission steel value chain. We launched a partnership with China Baowu Steel Group and Tsinghua University in 2019; signed a MOU with Nippon Steel Corporation, Japan’s largest steel producer in 2020; and signed an MOU with POSCO, South Korea's largest steel producer in 2021. All of these partnerships aim to develop solutions that can help address the steel industry’s carbon footprint and improve its environmental performance. 

The COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, but we were privileged to be able to continue operating, putting many measures in place to protect our employees, contractors and the communities where we work and live.

We offered our support to government vaccination campaigns and set up vaccination clinics near our operations in a variety of locations across the United States, Mongolia, South Africa, Madagascar, Canada and Australia for our employees, contractors, their families and community members. 

"As COVID-19 threatened the lives and livelihoods, the entire company mobilised to safeguard our employees, contractors and communities, and to keep our operations running. Our success in 2020 was due, in no small part, to this remarkable effort by our entire workforce."

Simon Thompson, Chairman 

Image: IOC employees during COVID-19

In allowing the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters in 2020, we fall far short of our values as a company and breached the trust placed in us by the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we operate.

It is our collective responsibility to ensure that the destruction of a site of such exceptional cultural significance never happens again, to earn back the trust that has been lost, and to re-establish our leadership in communities and social performance.

As a result of the events at Juukan Gorge, we lost our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) partner status and are suspended from the program. Our relationship with Reconciliation Australia is another important partnership that will take time to rebuild. We are engaging with Reconciliation Australia to rebuild trust, take meaningful action, and move forward honestly and transparently.

"Our strong performance in many areas during 2020 was overshadowed by the destruction of two ancient rock shelters in the Juukan Gorge. I reiterate our unreserved apology to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people for the destruction of the rock shelters. We are committed to learning the lessons from Juukan Gorge to ensure that the destruction of a site of such exceptional cultural significance never happens again."

Simon Thompson, Chairman

In November 2020, we ceased mining at our Argyle diamond mine in the remote East Kimberley Region of Western Australia. During 37 years of operation, it produced more than 865 million carats of rare, natural-coloured diamonds, including coveted pink and red diamonds. Closure activities then started in collaboration with Traditional Owners. 

Image: End of an era at the Argyle Diamond Mine – Underground Manager Brendan supervises last tonne of ore after 37 years of operation

In 2020, we made a A$50 million commitment to fast-track Indigenous Australians into professional and leadership roles to ensure we have a stronger representation of diverse voices across all of our businesses in Australia. Having true diversity of perspectives will rechart our company moving forward. The investment to attract, retain and grow has enabled us to increase the number of Australian Indigenous leaders in our business through internal promotion and recruitment. During 2021, 126 Indigenous employees earned promotions across Australia. 

Image: An employee at our Gove bauxite mine in Queensland, Australia

In September 2020, the Human Rights Law Centre filed a complaint against Rio Tinto on behalf of 156 Bougainville residents with the Australian National Contact Point (AusNCP) regarding the Panguna site.

Following a series of engagements between the parties, in 2021 a joint committee of stakeholders, the Panguna Mine Legacy Impact Assessment Committee, was formed to oversee a detailed independent assessment of the Panguna mine to identify and better understand the environmental and human rights impacts of the mine.

The Committee is chaired by an independent facilitator with representatives from the Autonomous Bougainville Government, the Independent State of PNG, clan landowners, local communities, Rio Tinto, Bougainville Copper Limited and the Human Rights Law Centre. 

In late 2022, the Impact Assessment began and will provide all parties with a clearer understanding of the impacts, so that together we can consider the right way forward. 

We committed to net zero by 2050 and accelerating our decarbonisation targets to 15% by 2025 and 50% by 2030. In addition to these targets, in 2021 we announced our new strategy, which has decarbonisation at its heart. To help achieve this, a new Rio Tinto Energy Development team was formed, which focuses on large-scale, renewable-energy solutions for our business, including installing 1GW of new renewables in the Pilbara.

We also announced our intention to decarbonise our Australian east coast aluminium smelters, Boyne and Tomago and invest in materials essential to the transition so we can meet the additional demand for commodities needed to decarbonise. 

We opened a new commercial scale demonstration plant in 2021, to produce high-quality scandium oxide at the Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium – Quebec Operations Metallurgical Complex in Sorel-Tracy. Scandium is an essential material in technologies such as EV batteries and solid-oxide fuel cells. The plant uses a process developed by Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium to extract high purity scandium oxide from the waste streams of titanium dioxide production, without the need for any additional mining.

As COVID-19 continued to disrupt lives and livelihoods around the world in 2021, we adapted to the huge new range of rules, regulations and expectations at our operations across the globe. In Mongolia, we launched a low interest loan scheme to help struggling businesses.

The program was targeted to reach priority social groups such as single-parent-run businesses, entrepreneurs with disability, women-led businesses, and environmentally friendly and import substituting industries.  

Image: The Mongolia team helping local communities through the covid crisis

We became the 100% owner of the Diavik Diamond Mine. Since opening in 2003, it now comprises four diamond-bearing pipes that we mine using a combination of open pit and underground mining. Our diamonds from Diavik are stunning white gems, produced to the highest possible standards of safety and integrity. 

Image: Diavik Diamond mine rough diamonds

We partnered with Carbfix to implement a technology for capturing carbon and permanently storing it underground at the ISAL aluminium smelter in Iceland. Working together, we aim to advance carbon capture solutions that are already being tested in production cells at ISAL and use the Carbfix technology to further decarbonise the plant. 

Image: Our employees discussing carbon capture solutions in Iceland

In December 2021, we started to build the renewable energy plant that will power our QMM operations, with our partner CrossBoundary Energy. The plant will consist of over 15,000 solar panels and four wind turbines.

The solar plant is expected to be operational in Q1 2023, and the wind power facility will be completed in 2023. The new plant will supply all of QMM's electricity demand during peak generation times, and up to 60% of the operations' annual electricity consumption. It will reduce QMM’s carbon dioxide emissions by about 26,000 tonnes a year. 

Image: QMM solar panels in Madagascar

We partnered with Komatsu to explore ways to fast-track the development and implementation of zero-emission mining haulage solutions, including haul trucks. 

Max Moriyama, President, Mining Business Division of Komatsu Ltd said Komatsu was honoured to continue to partner with Rio Tinto.

“Rio Tinto and Komatsu both recognise the critical role zero-emission haul trucks play in meeting the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission reduction goals for the mining industry and the need to focus on developing practical haulage solutions.” 

We set a new standard in transparency and traceability for the aluminium industry when we launched START, a “nutrition label” for responsible aluminium. START helps customers meet the demand from consumers for transparency on where and how the products they purchase are made.  

In March 2021, we commissioned an independent review of our workplace culture to better understand, prevent and respond to harmful behaviours across our global operations. Former Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick conducted the review, and we reported the findings and recommendations in February 2022. 

We are now working to implement the 26 recommendations, as we have a responsibility to create a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace. 

“The findings of this report are deeply disturbing to me and should be to everyone who reads them. I offer my heartfelt apology to every team member, past or present, who has suffered as a result of these behaviours. This is not the kind of company we want to be. 

“I feel shame and enormous regret to have learned the extent to which bullying, sexual harassment and racism are happening at Rio Tinto. 

“I am determined that by implementing appropriate actions to address the recommendations, and with the management team’s commitment to a safe, respectful and inclusive Rio Tinto in all areas, we will make positive and lasting change and strengthen our workplace culture for the long term. 

“I am grateful to everyone who has come forward to share their experiences as we go about this vital work.”

Jakob Stausholm, Chief Executive

Image: Promoting diversity and inclusion in the Pilbara, Australia

With new leadership in place, in 2021 we set four clear objectives: being the best operator; achieving impeccable environmental, social and governance credentials; excelling in development; and strengthening our social licence. 

"The four objectives are underpinned by the launch of our Rio Tinto Safe Production System, our new strategy, and a set of simple values that connect us all as human beings – care, courage and curiosity."

Jakob Stausholm, Chief Executive 

We signed a US$400 million commitment in 2021 with the President of Mongolia to contribute 100 million trees to the 1 billion tree program within 10 years. Since signing, the official plan now includes trees and foundational infrastructure, to ensure they survive and thrive.

To help us meet the growing global need for renewable power sources, electric vehicles, and home energy storage, we launched a new Battery Materials business. This will see us add essential minerals like lithium, nickel, scandium and tellurium to our product portfolio, as well as other critical minerals that are part of the battery materials value chain. 

We opened our most technologically advanced mine, the Gudai-Darri iron ore mine on Banjima country in the Pilbara. To optimise mine safety and drive productivity, Gudai-Darri features an unprecedented deployment of industry-leading technology. This includes the use of robotics for the ore sampling laboratory as well as for distribution of parts in the new workshop.  

Image: Gudai-Darri fines stacker working as the sun sets over Banjima country in the Pilbara, WA

Borax Francais celebrated its 120th year of operation. Each year, Borax Français produces around 8,000 tonnes of speciality borates products for the agricultural, pharmaceutical, nuclear energy and industrial manufacturing sectors in Europe and the United States. 

A new aluminium recycling facility at our Arvida Plant in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, expanded our offering of low-carbon aluminium solutions for customers in the automotive, packaging and construction markets. The facility will make us the first primary aluminium producer in North America to incorporate recycled post-consumer aluminium into aluminium alloys.  

Image: Safety checks are essential at all our operations, including Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Canada

Together with the Government of the Republic of Guinea and Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS), Rio Tinto Simfer incorporated the La Compagnie du TransGuinéen (The TransGuinean Company) to further progress plans to codevelop the rail and port components for the Simandou iron ore project.

Image: Aerial photo of Canga East Camp with Pic de Fon in background Simandou, Guinea.   

We acquired the Rincon lithium project in 2022, a large undeveloped lithium brine project located in the heart of the lithium triangle in Argentina. This long life, scalable project has the potential to have one of the lowest carbon footprints in the industry. 

Image: The Rincon lithium project in Argentina

In March, we establish the China Technology and Innovation Centre (CTIC) in Beijing to connect leading Chinese research and development with our internal expertise to develop technological solutions to operational and business challenges.  

In September, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Shougang Group, one of the world's top 10 steel producers, to promote, research, design and implement low-carbon solutions for the steel value chain. 

We formed strategic partnerships in 2022 with global car manufacturers Ford Motor Group and Volvo Group to supply responsibly sourced low-carbon materials, like lithium from our Rincon lithium project in Argentina. We will also explore opportunities to develop more sustainable and secure supply chains for electric vehicles. These multi-materials partnerships also include low carbon aluminium, copper and metallics. 

Our Kennecott copper operation in Utah, United States started to produce tellurium by recycling copper tailings streams. We are one of only two United States’ producers of the critical mineral, which is used in advanced thin-film photovoltaic solar panels. 

Image: Environmental monitoring at Kennecott copper mine, US

We started to produce spodumene concentrate, a mineral used in the production of lithium for batteries, at a demonstration plant at our Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium Metallurgical Complex in Sorel-Tracy, Canada. Our Critical Minerals and Technology Centre, founded in 1967, is part of RTIT, and conducts research on process improvement and develops new products.  

We announced a US$10 million strategic equity investment in Nano One, a Vancouver-based technology company with a patented industrial process to produce low-cost, high-performance cathode used in lithium-ion batteries. This partnership contemplates using our battery metal products, including iron powders from Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium – Quebec Operations and lithium, as feedstock for the production of Nano One’s cathode materials. 

We announced a partnership with the Sumitomo Corporation in 2022 to study the construction of a hydrogen pilot plant at our Yarwun alumina refinery in Gladstone, Queensland, so we can explore the potential use of hydrogen at the refinery. 

Image: The Yarwun alumina refinery at night-time

We support strengthening safeguards for cultural heritage at both State and Commonwealth legislative levels. We have long supported constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians, having backed the “Recognise” campaign, through to the Uluru Statement from the Heart, to where we stand today, with the growing momentum behind an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. We welcome a referendum to include recognition in the Constitution and will be actively engaging with our employees to promote understanding of the issue. 

We signed an agreement with international energy company Voltalia and local Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) partners to supply Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) in KwaZuluNatal, South Africa with renewable solar power. Under the agreement, Voltalia will begin construction of the renewable energy project in 2023. The renewable power supply is expected to cut RBM’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by at least 10%, or 237kt CO₂e per year. 

Rio Tinto and China Baowu Steel Group Co. Ltd agree to enter a $2 billion joint venture to develop the Western Range iron ore project in the Pilbara, Western Australia.  

“This is a very significant milestone for both Rio Tinto and Baowu, our largest customer globally. We have enjoyed a strong working relationship with Baowu for more than four decades, shipping more than 200 million tonnes of iron ore under our original joint venture, and we are looking forward to extending our partnership at Western Range.”

Simon Trott, Iron Ore Chief Executive