Production & reserves
Industrial minerals
(Rio Tinto interest 100% unless otherwise shown)
| Mine | Location | Access | Title/lease |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Tinto Minerals - Boron | California, US | Road, rail and port | Owned |
| Rio Tinto Minerals - talc | Trimouns, France (other smaller operations in Australia, Europe and North America) | Road and rail | Owner of ground (orebody) and long term lease agreement to 2012 |
| QIT-Fer et Titane Lac Tio |
Havre-Saint-Pierre, Quebec, Canada | Rail and port (St Lawrence River) | Mining covered by two concessions granted by State in 1949 and 1951 which, subject to certain Mining Act restrictions, confer rights and obligations of an owner |
| QIT Madagascar Minerals (80%) | Fort-Dauphin, Madagascar | Road and port | Mining lease |
| Richards Bay Minerals (50%) | Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa | Rail, road and port | Long term renewable mineral leases; State lease for Reserve 4 initially runs to end 2022; Ingonyama Trust lease for Reserve 10 runs to 2022. Both mineral leases are required to be converted to new order mining rights by 30 April 2009 in terms of South African legislation. An application for conversion was made in 2006 for the Ingonyama Trust mineral lease, and an application was made in 2008 for the conversion of the State mineral lease |
| Mine | History | Type of mine | Power source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Tinto Minerals - Boron | Deposit discovered in 1925 and acquired by Rio Tinto in 1967 | Open pit | On site co-generation units |
| Rio Tinto Minerals - talc | Production started in 1885; acquired in 1988. Australian mine acquired in 2001 | Open pit | Supplied by Atel and on site generation units. Australian mine power supplied by Western Power |
| QIT-Fer et Titane Lac Tio |
Production started 1950; interest acquired in 1989 | Open pit | Long term contract with Hydro-Quebec |
| QIT Madagascar Minerals (80%) | Began as exploration project 1980s; construction approved 2005; ilmenite production started end of 2008 | Mineral sand dredging | On site diesel generators |
| Richards Bay Minerals (50%) | Production started 1977; interest acquired 1989. Fifth dredge commissioned in 2000 | Beach sand dredging | Contract with ESKOM |