Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs
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The drive for innovation and continuous improvement is at the heart of our purpose
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Finding better ways to do things is in our DNA
We supply the metals and minerals used to help the world grow and decarbonise
Iron Ore
Iron ore is the primary raw material used to make steel
7 things the world will need for a low-carbon future
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Sustainability – the expectation, not the exception
Shaping our aluminium product offering to meet demand for greener metals
Bringing to market materials critical to urbanisation and the transition to a low-carbon economy
Look inside a mine of the future
Our most intelligent mine yet is pioneering new mining technologies
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
Sustainability Reporting 2023
As temporary custodians of the land where we operate, we are entrusted with accessing the world’s essential materials and making them available for society’s use
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We’re targeting net zero emissions by 2050
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We’ve launched a new interactive map of our tailings facilities
We aim to deliver superior returns to our shareholders while safeguarding the environment and meeting our obligations to wider society
Reports 2023
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In January 2022, the Government of Serbia cancelled the spatial plan for the Jadar lithium-borates project and revoked our licences related to the proposed lithium-borates project.
We believe the Jadar project has the potential to be a world-class asset that could act as a catalyst for the development of other industries and tens of thousands of jobs for current and future generations in Serbia, while sustainably producing battery-grade lithium carbonate, a material critical to the energy transition.
We are focused on consultation with all stakeholders, including providing comprehensive factual information about the project. We believe that a public dialog based on facts is necessary to ensure that all options related to project’s future are considered.
We are also long-term landowners and have made commitments to the community and suppliers. We will continue to honour our obligations despite our permits and licenses being cancelled.
Communication and Education: As part of our efforts to ensure an informed dialogue in Serbia about lithium mining, we are currently engaging in an education and information campaign via paid, editorial and unmarked native media content to counterbalance the significant disinformation occurring about lithium mining, and contribute to a fact-based dialogue.
A vital component for clean technologies such as electric vehicles and battery storage, lithium will play an essential role in the transition to a low carbon economy. The scale and high-grade nature of the Jadar deposit provides the potential for a mine to supply lithium products into the electric vehicle value chain for decades, positioning Serbia as the European hub for green energy. Double digit demand growth is forecast for lithium over the next decade.
Jadar is a mineral deposit containing lithium and boron discovered by our geologists in 2004 near Loznica in the Jadar Valley in Western Serbia, some 160 kilometres from the capital of Belgrade. The high-grade, large-scale deposit is a promising addition to the world’s supply of materials for low-carbon technologies, such as the batteries used for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage.
Lithium, the lightest of all metals, is proving to be an essential ingredient in many of the world’s low-carbon technologies. It doesn’t occur on its own in nature but is found combined with other minerals. The discovery of a high-grade, large-scale reserve of a new mineral that contains lithium presents exciting new opportunities for contributing to a more low-carbon future.
We employed several geological investigation techniques to certify the available reserves at Jadar, with drilling the primary technique used (drilling core and rotary drilling without a core). Holes were drilled over a licensed area covering 60km.
The Jadar deposit and its unique mineral, Jadarite, contains high-grade mineralisation of boron and lithium. Jadar is planned as an underground mine capable of producing 3 products on an annual basis, all in powdered form:
These products are important to the production of large-scale batteries for electric vehicles and for the storage of renewable energy. Borates are used in solar panels and wind turbines and in many household products such as detergents and cosmetics, as well as in fibreglass insulation, glass for cell phones and in fertilisers. Sodium sulphate is used in the textile industry and in the production of powdered detergents and glass.
We entered the lithium industry through our Boron mine in California, where borates have been mined since 1927. In 2019, we established a demonstration project at Boron to recover battery-grade lithium from the boron waste piles and this has been used to test the capacity to progress to larger-scale production. Jadar will build directly upon the Boron experience and the 2 operations will be complementary.
We have also developed a new, innovative technology for the production of lithium carbonate and boric acid from the mined Jadarite ore, with a small-scale test plant developed at our research centre in Australia to test the new technology. A global team of experts has conducted some 2,000 tests to date to confirm the technical viability of producing the 3 products from the Jadarite ore. This has led to numerous improvements in the production process and in the health, safety and environmental protection processes.
4 Gimnazijska Street 15300 Loznica Serbia T +381 15 872 834
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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.
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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.
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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.
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