Employee assessing the rail network at Karratha Rail

Australia

Our Australian story

Rio Tinto’s origins in Australia date back almost 120 years. Our story begins in 1905 with a small, speculative zinc operation in the fabled Broken Hill resources province in the far west of New South Wales. Today, Rio Tinto is in 35 countries, but our roots in Australia run as deep as ever.

Rio Tinto in Australia
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Our Australian story

Our Australian operations

From Weipa, at the northern tip of Queensland, to Brisbane, from Tasmania’s Bell Bay to Gove in the Northern Territory, and from Perth to the vast landscapes of the Pilbara and the Kimberley, Australia is home to almost half our global business and employees.

More than 23,000 people work with us each day to produce iron ore, salt, bauxite, alumina and aluminium, to responsibly close and rehabilitate mine sites, to bring copper and scandium projects to life, and to explore the country for materials the world needs for a low carbon future.

Pilbara

Iron Ore Western Australia

In the Pilbara region of Western Australia, we own an integrated portfolio of world-class iron ore assets
Weipa port, Australia

Weipa

Our Weipa operations in Far North Queensland includes 3 bauxite mines, processing facilities, shiploaders, an export wharf, 2 ports, power stations, a rail network and ferry terminals
Yarwun Alumina Refinery from the air

Yarwun Alumina Refinery

Yarwun shipped its first alumina in late 2004 and today produces more than three million tonnes of alumina per year
Dampier Salt

Dampier Salt

Dampier Salt Limited is in Western Australia and comprises 2 solar salt operations – Dampier and Port Headland. It’s the world’s largest exporter of seaborne salt.
Gove aerial shot

Gove

Our Gove site in Australia’s Northern Territory has been supplying the global aluminium industry with bauxite for more than 40 years
Bell Bay from the air

Bell Bay Aluminium

Operating since 1955, Bell Bay holds a unique place in Tasmanian and Australian history as the first aluminium smelter in the Southern Hemisphere
Export wharf at BSL

Boyne Smelters Limited

Boyne Smelters Limited has been operating since 1982 and is Australia’s second largest aluminium smelter
Argyle, the Kimberley, Western Australia

Argyle

Ceasing mining in 2020, Argyle was one of the world’s largest producers of diamonds and the largest supplier of natural coloured diamonds
Energy Resources of Australia from the air

Energy Resources of Australia Ltd

Energy Resources of Australia Ltd is one of Australia’s largest producers of uranium

Our Australian sports partnerships

We are partners in a range of programs, developed to strengthen our connections with communities through the power of sport.

Athletics Australia

Proud supporters of Athletics Australia
Since 2022, we have been promoting athletics and its positive impacts on young people in regional and remote areas. The flagship program – Athletics for the Outback – brings athletics to our host communities and helps Indigenous students take their sport to the next level. Our employees volunteer at Athletics Australia events, and benefit from the expertise of coaches, dieticians, and professional athletes, who provide advice on topics from leadership and healthy living to how to improve running speed. Read more on the Athletics Australia website.
Athletics Australia
Perth Lynx

Perth Lynx and Wildcats

Partnership formed in 2023
We joined forces with the Perth Lynx and Wildcats basketball teams in 2023. Our partnership brings together 2 iconic Western Australia sporting groups and our 17,000 plus local employees as supporters. We are empowering athletes from both teams to excel, on and off the court. Our aim is to provide pathways for more Western Australians to play basketball, and to increase the visibility of women playing sport at professional level. 
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We are boosting the Wildcats' community and elite programs, including a new academy supporting 25 high-potential athletes, aged between 14 and 19 from various backgrounds. 

Our funding of the Lynx has gone towards strengthening the development of an academy program, and allowed the team to operate at their maximum Women's National Basketball League sanctioned salary cap.
We are partnering with the Perth Lynx and Wildcats to enhance basketball in Western Australia
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Juukan Gorge

In allowing the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters to occur, we fell 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. We have spent the time since making major changes right across our business to better protect cultural heritage.

Aerial photo of vehicles driving on dirt road towards Pic de Fon from Canga East Camp, Simandou, Guinea

Projects

Our projects across the world
Photo of employee talking to the chief in the Mafindou community near Beyla, Guinea

Communities

We know our operations can have far-reaching impacts on society
Employee, Boyne Smelters

Our commitment to Australia

Five ways we’re committed to playing our part in a stronger Australia