We continue to progress important growth opportunities and projects, to bring to market materials critical to the transition to a low-carbon economy: copper, lithium and iron ore, among others.
We have a strong portfolio of projects and exploration activity in seven commodities across more than 18 countries. We focus on investing in quality organic growth and use data and technology to improve our targeting, allowing us to uncover opportunities in areas that have been well explored by others.
Grow in materials enabling the energy transition
Our strategy also focuses on growing in materials required to support the energy transition, such as copper, lithium, aluminium and high-quality iron ore. This will ensure our portfolio remains relevant and is well-placed to meet the commodity needs of future generations.”
- Jakob Stausholm, Rio Tinto Chief Executive
The pursuit of the Paris Agreement goals will create additional demand for materials such as copper, lithium, aluminium and high-quality iron ore. These are essential enablers of the energy transition and the development of infrastructure for a low-carbon world. Our ambition is to increase our growth capital to $3.0 billion annually in 2023 to 2024, depending on opportunities, while continuing to provide attractive returns to our shareholders.
We will seek to grow further in copper and battery materials, and to bring additional tonnes of high-grade iron ore to market from the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) and the Simandou project in Guinea. We will continue to align our exploration spend to supplement our existing growth pipeline.
Excel in development
Deliver organic and inorganic growth, on time, on budget
Our portfolio is well-placed to meet the commodity needs of future generations, but we also need to build a pipeline of organic and inorganic growth opportunities and establish a strong track record of capital-efficient delivery.
We are broadening our approach to developing our pipeline of growth options and are testing innovative ways of bringing projects online faster. Through it all, we will maintain our absolute commitment to capital discipline and only pursue opportunities that create value.
We are also focused on further building our capabilities in business development and project execution.
We continued to successfully roll out the Rio Tinto Safe Production System (RTSPS) and now have 15 deployments across the business at 11 sites, with 30 rapid improvement projects (Kaizens) either completed or in progress. In the first half of 2022, there has been a 9% year on year improvement in average operating time across processing plants and drills at deployment sites versus the same period in 2021. We are on track to meet our 2022 target of 30 deployments at 15 sites.
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Rincon
Rincon is a long life, scaleable resource capable of producing battery grade lithium carbonate. It has the potential to have one of the lowest carbon footprints in the industry that can help deliver on our decarbonisation commitment. -
Gudai-Darri
Gudai-Darri will set a benchmark for our industry in terms of automation and the use of data – making mining safer and more productive. -
Promising Copper Discovery in Australia
Our Winu Project is one opportunity in our high-quality pipeline of exploration projects globally. It is at a very early stage, but our initial results are promising. Winu is a copper and gold system, shallow and suitable for open pit mining, located in a great jurisdiction and in flat topography, and 100% owned. -
Oyu Tolgoi Underground
At Oyu Tolgoi, in Mongolia, we are building a world-class underground mine. Oyu Tolgoi has reserves and resources that make it one of the world’s largest known copper and gold deposits. -
Meet our Modern Explorers
Our team of 400+ explorers is out searching the world for the next wave of commodities essential for human progress.