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
Decarbonisation progress update
We have a clear plan on decarbonisation - find out more about our progress
We aim to deliver superior returns to our shareholders while safeguarding the environment and meeting our obligations to wider society
Why collapsing our dual-listing structure would destroy value for shareholders
A comprehensive review showed collapsing our DLC structure would likely lead to the share price of a unified Rio Tinto trending to levels significantly lower than the Rio Tinto Limited share price before DLC collapse
Get the latest news, stories and updates
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
The 'f' word of innovation
How unlocking innovation requires a change of mindset
Reducing titanium oxide's carbon footprint
Our BlueSmelting technology could drastically reduce carbon emissions during ore processing
Discover more about life at Rio Tinto
Graduates and students
If you want to drive real change, we have just the place to do it
Empowering families with flexibility
Supporting new parents of any gender with equal access to parental leave
Available jobs
Join our team
Mining operations often take place in some of the most remote areas on Earth, from the vast expanse of the Gobi Desert to the rugged mountains of Argentina. In these unique and precious environments, managing our impact on biodiversity is as critical as delivering our product to customers.
The Simandou project in the south-east of Guinea, West Africa, is one these areas. Located in Guinea’s Forest region, Simandou is surrounded by unique flora and fauna that we, along with our partners, are committed to protecting in line with international standards.
Simandou’s project teams have been studying the biodiversity of the Simandou Mountain Range for decades.
The Western Chimpanzee is one of the species known to be in the area and is listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Ensuring a net gain of the Western Chimpanzee is a key commitment of Rio Tinto and SimFer, a joint venture we’re part of that is building Blocks 3 and 4 of the Simandou project, as well as some rail and port infrastructure.
Over many years, Rio Tinto and SimFer have implemented the International Finance Corporation’s Performance Standard 6 mitigation hierarchy to plan how to deliver a net gain in chimpanzee habitat. This included relocating much of the mine’s infrastructure, adding significant complexity to construction but protecting a large amount of habitat on the western side of the mountain where monitoring studies have confirmed that the local Western Chimpanzee population is concentrated.
Since September 2024, we’ve been closely monitoring the movements of a female Western Chimpanzee who has moved to the east side of the mountain and is spending the majority of her time in the Boyboyba Forest, an area we are protecting from mining activities.
From the forest, she has increasingly gravitated towards the mine, which is under construction.
Our Biodiversity Manager at Simandou, Harry, explains that she could be behaving so unusually because she’s at an age where she may be looking for a new chimpanzee community to join.
“We first became aware of her as part of our comprehensive primate monitoring program in 2022,” he says.
“She is a young female with an old hand injury, most likely from being caught in a hunter’s snare.
“Western Chimpanzees are not typically solitary animals, but young females do sometimes move away from their family groups in search of a new community. We’ve seen her moving closer to the mine over the last 6 months and she now spends a significant amount of time in active construction areas.
“We don’t know exactly why she’s seeking out human interaction, but we do know that this is unusual behaviour.”
As construction activity at Simandou increases, the risk to her safety is growing.
“We’re worried that her safety is at risk from construction traffic, and disease is also a concern,” Harry says.
“While she’s not physically isolated and is able to access different forest areas for food and water, we’re working hard to manage her welfare and develop a long-term solution.”
Given she is a wild animal, minimising direct interaction is critical. This rules out veterinary treatment for her injury, especially as it appears she has learnt to live with it, with limited impact to her mobility or physical health.
Experts agree that coexistence, rather than relocation, is the most preferable outcome, even for an injured animal. So we’re committed to learning as much as we can about our closest neighbour, and putting measures in place to do everything we can to safely coexist with her. We’re studying her behaviour, and conducting genetic sampling from her faeces to understand her relationship to other local populations.
As part of the mine plan, we’ll be constructing large wildlife underpasses on the permanent haul road adjacent to the Boyboya Forest where this Chimpanzee resides.
But to mitigate the short-term risk, our construction teams are managing speed and access to the area, and have placed prominent warning signs to make drivers and other employees aware that she may be in the area.
We’ve engaged dedicated wildlife experts to be permanently in the field to monitor her interactions with contractors and equipment and provide advice to the team when they come across her,” Harry says.
For more information on SimFer’s commitments to managing its biodiversity impact, visit our Simandou project page.
How we process personal data provided or obtained through this website.
With the exception of the use of cookies, Rio Tinto generally does not seek to collect personal data through this website. However if you choose to provide personal data to Rio Tinto through this website (for example, by sending us an email), we will process that personal data to answer your query and if relevant, to manage our business relationship with you or your company. We won't process that personal data for other purposes except where required to meet our legal obligations or otherwise as authorised by law and notified to you.
If you choose to subscribe to our media releases or other communications, you can unsubscribe at any time (by following the instructions in the email or by contacting us).
With your consent, our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site. A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive.
As some data privacy laws regulate IP addresses and other information collected through the use of cookies as personal data, Rio Tinto’s processing of such personal data needs to comply with its Data Privacy Standard (see Part 1 of our Privacy Policy), and also applicable data privacy laws.
With the exception of the use of cookies (explained below), Rio Tinto generally does not seek to collect personal data through this website. However if you choose to provide personal data to Rio Tinto through this website (for example, by sending us an email), we will process that personal data to answer your query and if relevant, to manage our business relationship with you or your company. We won't process that personal data for other purposes except where required to meet our legal obligations or otherwise as authorised by law and notified to you.
Part 1 of this Privacy Policy contains the Rio Tinto Data Privacy Standard, which provides an overview of Rio Tinto’s approach to personal data processing. There is additional information in the appendices to the Data Privacy Standard, including information about disclosures, trans-border data transfers, the exercise of data subject rights and how to make complaints or obtain further information relating to Rio Tinto’s processing of your personal data.
If you choose to subscribe to our media releases or other communications, you can unsubscribe at any time (by following the instructions in the email or by contacting us at digital.comms@riotinto.com).
With your consent, our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site.
A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive.
As some data privacy laws regulate IP addresses and other information collected through the use of cookies as personal data, Rio Tinto’s processing of such personal data needs to comply with its Data Privacy Standard (see Part 1 of this Privacy Policy), and also applicable data privacy laws.
These Cookies are used to provide a better user experience on the site, such as by measuring interactions with particular content or remembering your settings such as language or video playback preferences.
These Cookies allow us to analyse site usage in order to evaluate and improve its performance. They help us know how often you come to our site and when, how long you stay and any performance issues you experience whilst you are on our site.
These Cookies are used by advertising companies to inform and serve personalised ads to your devices based on your interests. These Cookies also facilitate sharing information with social networks or recording your interactions with particular ads.