Diamonds & Minerals

Chief executive, Diamonds and Minerals: Harry Kenyon-Slaney

The Diamonds & Minerals group comprises mining, refining and marketing operations across three sectors. Rio Tinto Diamonds is one of the world's leading diamond producers, active in mining and sales and marketing. Rio Tinto Minerals is a world leader in borates and talc, with mines, processing plants, commercial and research facilities. Rio Tinto Iron& Titanium is an industry leader in high grade titanium dioxide.

Products

Overview: Diamonds, borates, titanium dioxide feedstocks, talc, high purity iron, metal powders, zircon, rutile

Diamonds
Diamonds share the role with gold as an important component in jewellery that ranges from top end jewellery through to more affordable pieces. Rio Tinto is able to service all diamond jewellery markets as it produces the full range of diamonds in terms of size, quality and colour distribution including whites, champagnes, cognacs, greys, blues and greens and the rarest of all, pink diamonds.

Download the Diamonds fact sheet

Borates
Refined borates are used in hundreds of products and processes. They are a vital ingredient of many home and automotive applications, and are essential nutrients for crops. They are commonly used in glass and ceramic applications including fibreglass, television screens, floor and wall tiles, and heat resistant glass.

Titanium dioxide
The minerals ilmenite and rutile, together with titanium slag, can be transformed into a white titanium dioxide pigment or titanium metal. The white pigment is a key component in paints, plastics, paper, inks, textiles, food, sunscreen and cosmetics. Titanium metal's key properties of light weight, chemical inertness and high strength make it ideal for use in medical applications and in the aerospace industry.

Talc
Talc is hydrated magnesium silicate and is the softest rock in the world. It is an important ingredient in the manufacture of paper, paints, moulded plastics for cars and other familiar products. Rio Tinto produces various grades of talc for niche markets.