Exploration
Exploration is an integral part of the sustainable development equation for Rio Tinto. We have had a sustained commitment to exploration since 1946 and consider it to be one of our core competencies.
The purpose of exploration is to discover or acquire mineral resources that add value to our business. Our strategy is to find and mine only the largest, lowest cost resources that are profitable at all parts of the natural price cycle and that deliver a sustainable competitive advantage.
Each of the countries and regions we explore in has different cultures, peoples, laws and expectations. Wherever our exploration teams operate, we work hard to find ways to implement the highest international standards. Successful sustainable development outcomes help us achieve not just a licence to operate, but also a licence to grow.
- Approach
- Results
As fewer than 0.1 per cent of exploration targets will deliver a discovery, we need a continuous pipeline of opportunities. We set ourselves apart from the rest of the mining industry by having a clear focus on finding and mining only the best resources. These resources must be profitable in all parts of the life cycle and deliver a sustainable economic advantage.
Our greenfield portfolio comprises primarily opportunities in bauxite, copper, iron ore and energy minerals (coal and uranium).
Our brownfield environment provides the easiest opportunity for creating value through exploration as we control highly prospective title around our existing operations where the likelihood is strong of finding additional resources. With processing infrastructure already in place, this means capital expenditure requirements for developing additional orebodies are usually lower than in a greenfield setting.
Our exploration teams are often the first contact that we have with our future neighbours. The orebodies that they discover become the catalyst for local economic diversification, skills development in the local workforce and, very often, improvements to infrastructure.
On a day to day basis our Exploration group contributes to improvements in local health and safety practices, community involvement and consultation, and employment of local people.
Closure as a component of mine life planning
- Closing a mine does not simply mean shutting down production, rehabilitating the land and walking away. People's livelihoods can be affected, as can the social and environmental programmes established during the life of the mine.
- See all "Our approach" features
