Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs
Purpose & Values
The drive for innovation and continuous improvement is at the heart of our purpose
Business Strategy
Climate change is at the heart of our business strategy
Innovation
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
Wind, sun and water – what else do you need to make renewable energy work?
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
Climate Change
We’re targeting net zero emissions by 2050
Tailings
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
Download our 2023 Annual Report, Climate Change Report, Sustainability Fact Book and Taxes Paid Report
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Our podcast discussing what needs to happen to create a sustainable future for the everyday items we have come to rely on
A new way to decarbonise steel
Tackling a global challenge
Tackling it all
A short documentary series with the Queensland Reds is inspiring working women everywhere
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The world needs more copper. From everyday appliances like toasters and washing machines, to the solar panels and wind turbines that will power a renewable future, copper is an ever more in-demand metal with every passing year.
As a copper producer, we've known for a while that we need to find better ways to meet this demand. But we need to do it responsibly.
So we've spent 30 years testing and developing a solution – one that's not only highly effective, but also sustainable, aspiring to have a real impact where it is deployed.
Nuton, a Rio Tinto venture, is a bio-heap leaching technology. Developed over 3 decades of research and development, it has the potential to produce copper from resources that were previously too technically challenging or expensive to process in any other way.
This unique technology achieves recovery rates of up to 85% from primary sulphide ore, the most abundant type of copper ore in the world – substantially higher than recoveries achieved by alternative leaching technologies.
Nuton doesn’t generate any tailings, and it eliminates the need for smelting and refining. In a single integrated process, we can produce a high-quality copper cathode on site.
With Nuton, we aspire to provide the copper the world needs, while meeting society’s higher expectations about the way it’s produced. At each site, we aim to produce the lowest footprint primary copper, while working with our partners at each site to create a positive impact in water, energy, land, materials and society.
The International Energy Agency predicts that copper will remain the most widely used metal in renewable energy technologies. They predict that to achieve net zero, total demand for copper will grow to 34.7 million tons by 2030, compared to 25 million tons of supply in 2022.
At Nuton’s core is a biological leach process that transforms copper-bearing rock or mine waste into 99% pure copper cathode.
Our leaching process starts by creating a heap – a very large pile of crushed rock. Depending on the site, that could be newly mined ore or previously mined rock that has been discarded as waste.
Added to the heap is a carefully cultivated culture of micro-organisms – the natural catalyst of our technology. Once added, they multiply, harnessing energy from the minerals in the rock to grow and concentrate the copper.
To support the microorganisms, we aerate the heap and add acidified water and, in some cases, naturally occurring minerals extracted from tailings waste. By creating favourable conditions for microorganism activity, we accelerate the copper leached from chalcopyrite in the heap material, enabling unparalleled copper recovery.
The name ‘Nuton’ draws from Sir Isaac Newton – the famous scientist, mathematician, physicist, and alchemist – an inspiration for the Nuton team to explore the boundaries of what is possible while remaining grounded in data, science and engineering.
‘Nuton’ also references the ‘new tonne’ of copper captured through this new technology, employing a new business model, and designed for a new, more sustainably minded, market.
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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.
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