Land use

Rio Tinto uses land for mining and associated activities and for infrastructure such as processing plants, smelters and power stations.

Performance
Our total footprint, land disturbed for Rio Tinto’s activities, is 1,359 square kilometres.

• 70 per cent has been used for mining and the balance for infrastructure
• 36 per cent of the land used for mining has been rehabilitated.

Acquisitions have increased the total footprint by 28 per cent in the last 12 months.

In 2001, land disturbance exceeded land rehabilitation by two square kilometres. While there has been a steady annual increase in the area of land disturbed and land rehabilitated, the gap between disturbance and rehabilitation has remained constant.

Our challenge is to maximise progressive rehabilitation so as to minimise rehabilitation requirements at closure.