Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs
Our business
We operate in 35 countries where our 60,000 employees are working to find better ways to provide the materials the world needs
Our purpose in action
Continuous improvement and innovation are part of our DNA
Innovation
The need for innovation is greater than ever
We supply the metals and minerals used to help the world grow and decarbonise
Iron Ore
The primary raw material used to make steel, which is strong, long-lasting and cost-efficient
Lithium
The lightest of all metals, it is a key element needed for low-carbon technologies
Copper
Tough but malleable, corrosion-resistant and recyclable, and an excellent conductor of heat and transmitter of electricity
Bringing to market materials critical to urbanisation and the transition to a low-carbon economy
Oyu Tolgoi
One of the most modern, safe and sustainable operations in the world
Rincon Project
A long-life, low-cost and low-carbon lithium source
Simandou Project
The world’s largest untapped high-grade iron ore deposit
Providing materials the world needs in a responsible way
Climate Change
We’re targeting net zero emissions by 2050
Nature solutions
Our nature-based solutions projects complement the work we're doing to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions
Enabling ESG transparency
Our START™ initiative tracks traceability and responsible production of Rio Tinto materials.
We aim to deliver superior returns to our shareholders while safeguarding the environment and meeting our obligations to wider society
Reports 2024
Download our 2024 suite of reports, including our 2024 Taxes and Royalties Paid Report, detailing $8.4 billion of taxes and royalties paid globally during the year
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Things You Can't Live Without
Our podcast discussing what needs to happen to create a sustainable future for the everyday items we have come to rely on
Refuelling the mining industry
How can we power the world’s biggest machines with new fuel solutions?
Forging a low-carbon future
How we're working to decarbonise iron ore and steel
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If you want to drive real change, we have just the place to do it
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Discover how our in-house consultancy team, PACE, offers a unique opportunity to help shape Rio Tinto from the inside
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Responsibly managing waste from mining operations is essential, as is being transparent with our stakeholders about our tailings facilities and how we manage them.
We strive to protect the health and safety of people, and to protect the surrounding environment, in the best way we can, everywhere we operate. Our tailings facilities are regulated, permitted and have been managed for many years to comply with local laws, regulations, permits, licenses and other requirements. Tailings facility management has been included in the Group risk register since 2010, and our Group Safety Standard for the Management of Tailings and Water Storage Facilities and the supporting Group Procedure for the Management of Tailings and Water Storage Facilities have been in place since 2015, and are updated periodically. Our internal assurance processes verify that the tailings facilities we manage are operated in accordance with this Group Standard.
Our Tailings Policy was released in July 2021, reinforcing our commitment to proactive, safe and sustainable tailings management, helping to protect the health and safety of our people, communities and the environment in every region we work in.
In 2016, we joined the Tailings Working Committee convened by the ICMM, which conducted a tailings management review of its member companies. Our work helped inform the ICMM’s Tailings Governance Framework Position Statement, published in 2016, including the six elements of tailings facility governance.
We're committed to sound health, safety, environmental, and engineering practices. In these areas it requires operations we manage to seek continual improvement and leading practices. To achieve these commitments, Rio Tinto has established a formal dam safety programme through the Group Safety Standard for the Management of Tailings and Water Storage Facilities. The programme delivers appropriate design, construction, operational management, surveillance, and reviews throughout the life cycle of our tailings and water storage facilities.
Our operational tailings facilities have emergency response plans in place; these are tested through training exercises in collaboration with local responders and emergency services, and are governed through our internal Business Resilience and Response Planning Group Procedure.
Rio Tinto operates a diverse portfolio of tailings facilities at various stages of the tailings facility lifecycle, including tailings contained within engineered earthen embankments and tailings deposited into previously mined open pits. Some tailings facilities consist of embankments constructed in a single phase; others have been raised several times over their active life to increase tailings storage capacity.
Information about the tailings facilities that Rio Tinto operates can be found on our interactive tailings disclosure map.
For each of our tailings facilities, we have published a Tailings Facility Disclosure under Principle 15 of the GISTM that provides information on implementation status and summaries of our tailings management processes. In addition, the tailings information published in response to the request for public disclosures on tailings by the Investor Mining and Tailings Safety Initiative (IMTSI) is also accessible.
We periodically update the list of tailings facilities to reflect operational and ownership changes, including changes relating to closure or remediation obligations for legacy assets and reclassification of tailing facilities as these develop over the life of operations.
Rio Tinto also has an interest in other mining operations through joint ventures and other business entities, and through our connection to legacy assets. Sites with tailings facilities in which Rio Tinto has an interest include: Alumar, Blackbird, Escondida, Gladstone Power Station, Mineração Río do Norte, Olette, Ranger, and Saint Cyr. Refer to the operator or owner for information on these tailings facilities.
For our non-managed joint venture operational sites with tailings facilities, we actively participate in technical committees in an advisory capacity with our joint venture partners. Each of the technical committees has a Tailings Steering Committee, or equivalent, to support the effective management of tailings.
The Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) was developed by the Global Tailings Review, a multi-disciplinary expert panel co-convened by the ICMM, PRI and UNEP following the Brumadinho tailings disaster in January 2019. The GISTM was released on 5 August 2020; the GISTM focuses tailings management practices on the prevention of tailings facility failures, reducing the social and environmental impacts of tailings facilities, and improving engagement and transparency on tailings with local communities.
Rio Tinto has committed to implementing the GISTM. We recognise that the GISTM is driving a step-change in tailings management and we are building on our existing tailings management practices. We also acknowledge that the GISTM strives to achieve the ultimate goal of zero harm to people and the environment with zero tolerance for human fatality – this is aligned with Rio Tinto’s values of care, courage and curiosity and our strong safety culture.
We have appointed Accountable Executives for tailings, who are accountable for the safety of tailings facilities and for minimising the social and environmental consequences of a potential tailings facility failure. The Accountable Executives have enabled and supported the implementation of the GISTM within the business. Implementation has taken significant effort from a wide range of qualified and experienced personnel and consultants, and has required us to collaborate closely with our ICMM peers, industry experts, our stakeholders and host communities.
Rio Tinto’s existing Standards for tailings and water storage management, environment, communities and social performance, risk and closure address many of the requirements of the GISTM. Where the GISTM introduced additional requirements programs of work were undertaken. In alignment with our commitment to implement the GISTM and the requirements under Principle 15, we publish information on our tailings facilities and update this information annually.
With safety and transparency being core principles for Rio Tinto and the GISTM, we have engaged with stakeholders about the tailings facilities located in the areas where we operate and will continue to share relevant information and seek input.
We are committed to cooperating in transparency initiatives that will provide standardised, independent, industry-wide and publicly accessible inventories of information about the safety and integrity of tailings facilities.
Consequence classifications are not ratings of the condition of a tailings facility or the likelihood of failure; instead, they rate the potential consequence if the tailings facility were to fail.
Our tailings facilities are managed under the Rio Tinto Group Safety Standard for the Management of Tailings and Water Storage Facilities, which is focused on ensuring tailings facility safety during construction, operation and closure.
We have assessed our progress on implementation of the GISTM through self-assessment and independent audits using the ICMM’s GISTM Conformance Protocols.
Implementation of the GISTM is complete for most of our tailings facilities, however some outstanding work remains for a few of our facilities including:
While the timing for completion of each work program varies, we anticipate that this work will be delivered progressively. Updates on progress will be included in our annual updates to our public disclosures on tailings.
The Tailings Facility Disclosure for each of our tailings facilities can be downloaded from the links below.
The information provided in the Tailings Facility Disclosure for each tailings facility should be read in conjunction with the Group-level Tailings Management Information, which provides supporting information for the disclosures and further details on Rio Tinto’s approach to tailings management in relation to the requirements of the GISTM. This information is provided as an Appendix to each Tailings Facility Disclosure, and can also be downloaded separately here.
The Tailings Facility Disclosure required under Principle 15 for the GISTM for each of our facilities can also be accessed through our interactive tailings disclosure map.