Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs
Our business
We operate in 35 countries where our 60,000 employees are working to find better ways to provide the materials the world needs
Our purpose in action
Continuous improvement and innovation are part of our DNA
Innovation
The need for innovation is greater than ever
We supply the metals and minerals used to help the world grow and decarbonise
Iron Ore
The primary raw material used to make steel, which is strong, long-lasting and cost-efficient
Lithium
The lightest of all metals, it is a key element needed for low-carbon technologies
Copper
Tough but malleable, corrosion-resistant and recyclable, and an excellent conductor of heat and transmitter of electricity
Bringing to market materials critical to urbanisation and the transition to a low-carbon economy
Oyu Tolgoi
One of the most modern, safe and sustainable operations in the world
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
Climate Change
We’re targeting net zero emissions by 2050
Nature solutions
Our nature-based solutions projects complement the work we're doing to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions
Enabling ESG transparency
Our START™ initiative tracks traceability and responsible production of Rio Tinto materials.
We aim to deliver superior returns to our shareholders while safeguarding the environment and meeting our obligations to wider society
Reports 2024
Download our 2024 suite of reports, including our 2024 Taxes and Royalties Paid Report, detailing $8.4 billion of taxes and royalties paid globally during the year
Get the latest news, stories and updates
Things You Can't Live Without
Our podcast discussing what needs to happen to create a sustainable future for the everyday items we have come to rely on
Refuelling the mining industry
How can we power the world’s biggest machines with new fuel solutions?
Forging a low-carbon future
How we're working to decarbonise iron ore and steel
Discover more about life at Rio Tinto
Graduates and students
If you want to drive real change, we have just the place to do it
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Supporting new parents of any gender with equal access to parental leave
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Join our team
We want your innovative ideas and solutions to some of our current business challenges. Whether you’re a start-up entrepreneur or an existing business, with small-scale ideas or proven solutions and technology. We know that we’re stronger when we work together.
This platform allows you to be heard and potentially deliver real value to our business.
We have formed a Tailings Consortium with BHP to develop solutions to improve tailings dewatering and management. Together we have launched the Tailings Technologies Open Call to identify and accelerate the market availability of innovative, holistic, and economically sustainable technologies to improve the dewatering, transportation, monitoring and stacking of mine tailings, and reduce potential safety risks associated with tailings facilities.
We are seeking out original ideas, from the unproven to those ready to deploy. Your idea should address a collaboration opportunity relevant to our business. In turn, we may support you with funding, laboratory and research space, professional coaching, access to operations, or if it is a product purchase.
Here’s what will happen once you submit your idea:
This process can take up to 2 months.
Whether you are providing a solution for one of our current business challenges or sharing your own technology, here is what you will need to provide when submitting your idea:
Brief description of the idea, solution or product, including:
What is considered to be the potential value to Rio Tinto if the idea is fully developed? This may relate to our business priorities - Safety, People, Cash, Growth and Partnerships.
How would this solution be deployed, including:
What is the product status of your solution, including:
What support from us or expectations are you looking for? That is:
In return, what will you provide?
Please provide any materials that could support your submission.
We encourage you to include proof points or evidence that can help to provide us with confidence in the feasibility and effectiveness of your solution or concept, and to recommend a course of action.
We may elect to proceed with any, all or none of the submissions. Similarly, there could be aspects of your solution that could work with other solutions, hence consider whether you would be willing to work with other third parties. This will be discussed on an individual basis.
Please submit via the form on the Pioneer Portal and ensure that you agree to the Terms and Conditions.
For further clarification email pioneerportal@riotinto.com.
All information or advice provided as part of this website is intended to be general in nature. Rio Tinto is not liable for any action you may take as a result of relying on such information or advice or for any loss or damage suffered by you as a result of you taking this action.
By submitting any ideas or other material you agree that Rio Tinto does not have any duty to treat such ideas or other material as confidential even when such ideas or other material are marked as or referred to by you as confidential.
By submitting your proposal you agree with the above and confirm having read and agreed to our Terms and Conditions and privacy notice.
It’s almost 2 kilometres to the bottom of Resolution Copper’s mine shafts. At these depths, temperatures can reach around 80°C.
Working in these temperatures requires continuous cooling supplied through huge ventilation systems – and these giant air conditioners require a lot of electricity to run. To help reduce carbon emissions, the Resolution Copper team sought a solution to capture and use the energy created by latent heat sources like underground water.
More than 20 companies contributed a range of possible solutions, ranging from early-stage developments to off-the-shelf products. These included absorption coolers, which use heat from air and water to produce cool air – like a refrigerator; using geothermal heat to create electricity to run the air conditioners; and converting solar energy from the surface to power the air conditioners below the ground.
The Resolution Copper project is now working with 2 companies to further investigate possible solutions. Our Energy and Climate Change teams are looking at how other proposed solutions could be used more broadly across Rio Tinto.
Aluminium is made using a process where carbon anodes create a chemical reaction, changing alumina into the shiny, lightweight metal used in everything from food packaging to cars. Through the smelting process, the carbon anodes are consumed.
For many years our Bell Bay aluminium operation has been pioneering a coating for carbon anodes to help reduce consumption, and therefore waste. Through the Pioneer Portal, the team sought a world-first solution to automatically apply their protective coating on baked carbon anodes.
Companies offered solutions ranging from immersion to spraying. The Bell Bay team is now working with a company to introduce robotic manufacturing technologies – like those used in the automotive industry – to apply the protective coating on their anodes.
Whether you are an individual inventor, or represent a small business or listed company, after submitting your idea, a mail response will acknowledge your submission and you will be contacted by us again within 2 months.
We need:
Supporting documents can be attached when completing the form. Please remember that all information submitted must be non-confidential.
For more information, please refer to the 'What you'll need to provide' section higher on this page.
Patents and other forms of intellectual property are used to establish ownership and protect the legal rights of the owners of various kinds of innovations and works. For your own protection and ours, we may decline to review your open innovation submission if it appears to lack intellectual property protection.
We cannot advise you on if you should pursue a patent, design or other form of intellectual property protection. For more information regarding the nature of intellectual property and its uses, you may wish to consult your legal representative or appropriate government agencies.
Please first describe your innovation without disclosing any confidential information. If we have interest in learning more, we will contact you to establish the necessary agreements.
Our initial review is based wholly on the non-confidential information you provide in your open innovation submission. Face-to-face meetings, phone conferences, or live demonstrations are not usually required at this stage.
It can take up to 2 months for our initial review to be carried out. If we need additional information during that period, we will contact you.
We therefore ask that you be patient and not contact us about your submission.
Who will review my submission and how long will the review take?
Each innovation is posted onto our internal social networking tool, Yammer, for open review by the Rio Tinto community. Additionally, these are reviewed by an expert panel who determines how to route it to ensure it reaches the relevant people within our company. In many cases, this can mean review by several parts of the organisation to evaluate technical merit or strategic business fit for us.
We are committed to reaching a decision as quickly as possible, however a thorough initial review, especially of a technological innovation, may take up to 2 months to complete.
Compensation is an important component of any business transaction. The value of an idea will be determined in discussions between Rio Tinto and the party which controls the rights to the intellectual property and its practice. Each property is therefore evaluated on its own merits and as a result, there is no standard amount.
This could take a variety of forms, depending upon the specifics of the innovation and both the potential partner's and our needs, including a licensing or supply agreement, or other type of collaborative venture.
We understand that those submitting to the open innovation portal desire feedback, including the reasons why we may decide to decline an opportunity. However, we are usually not at liberty to give detailed reasons. Generally speaking, submissions are most often declined for one or more of the following reasons:
What does Rio Tinto do with personal information that I provide with my open innovation portal registration?
Rio Tinto will use this information to communicate with you about your submission. It will not be used for any other purpose, nor will it shared with any third party.