Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs
Purpose & Values
The drive for innovation and continuous improvement is at the heart of our purpose
Business Strategy
Climate change is at the heart of our business strategy
Innovation
Finding better ways to do things is in our DNA
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
Tailings
Details of our tailings facilities can be found on our interactive tailings disclosure map
Nature solutions
Our nature-based solutions projects complement the work we're doing to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions
We aim to deliver superior returns to our shareholders while safeguarding the environment and meeting our obligations to wider society
North America site visit, 24 September 2024
An investor site visit to our Aluminium operations in the Saguenay and our Iron & Titanium business in Sorel, Quebec, Canada
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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
The 'f' word of innovation
How unlocking innovation requires a change of mindset
Reducing titanium oxide's carbon footprint
Our BlueSmelting technology could drastically reduce carbon emissions during ore processing
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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Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group in which 2 companies, Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited are combined in a dual listed companies (DLC) structure. Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited and their respective groups operate together as a single economic enterprise.
Following the approval of the DLC merger, Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited entered into a DLC merger sharing agreement pursuant to which each company agreed:
to ensure that the businesses of Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited are managed on a unified basis
to ensure that the boards of directors of each company comprise the same individuals
to give effect to certain arrangements designed to provide shareholders of each company with a common economic interest in the Rio Tinto Group
In addition, as part of the DLC structure, each company entered into a deed poll guarantee in favour of certain creditors of the other company and the obligations of other persons which are guaranteed by the other company subject to certain limited exceptions.
The Rio Tinto Group has a contractual relationship with both Moody's Investor Services and Standard & Poor's for the provision of rating information. Management of the Group meets these agencies at least annually and shares with them the Group's latest financial projections and business plan. Both Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited continue to enjoy investment grade ratings.
The following table shows Rio Tinto's current credit ratings.
Moody's Investor Services
A1 (stable)
P-1
Standard & Poor's
A (stable)
A-1
Rio Tinto’s policies on financial risk management are defined such that the Group has a capital structure in place to manage the organisation through the commodity cycle and that the Group’s exposures may float with the market.
The Group is exposed to capital, liquidity, credit, commodity price, foreign exchange and interest rate risks.
Derivatives are used as and when required in order to manage the Group’s exposure in accordance with its underlying financial risk management principles.
The Group operates a floating rates policy for the management of its economic exposure to interest rates risk. It does not seek to hedge this floating exposure and will re-float any material rates that are fixed. In certain circumstances, however, a higher proportion of fixed-rate funding may be considered appropriate.
Rio Tinto’s earnings, cash flows and shareholders’ equity are influenced by a wide variety of currencies due to the geographic diversity of the Group’s sales and the countries in which it operates. The US dollar is the currency in which the majority of the Group’s sales are denominated. Operating costs are influenced by the currencies of those countries where the Group’s mines and processing plants are located and also by those currencies in which the costs of imported equipment and services are determined. Apart from the US dollar, the Australian and Canadian dollars are the most important currencies influencing costs. In any particular year, currency fluctuations may have a significant impact on Rio Tinto’s financial results.
The Group operates a floating rates policy for the management of its economic exposure to foreign exchange rate risks. It does not seek to hedge this floating exposure and will re-float, where possible, any material rates that are fixed. However, currency protection measures may be deemed appropriate in specific commercial circumstances.
External funds are predominantly raised (or invested) in U.S. dollars (or hedged to U.S. dollars) as this is the dominant currency of the Group.
The Group operates a floating prices policy for the management of its economic exposure to commodity price risk. It does not seek to hedge this floating exposure and will re-float, where possible, any material price that is fixed. Where this is impossible (or sub-optimal) any non-floating price risks are managed within defined market risk tolerances. Derivatives are used as and when required in order to manage the Group’s exposure in accordance with this underlying financial risk management principle.
The Group is exposed to credit risk from its operating activities (primarily from customer receivables) and from its financing activities. Credit risk is managed within defined credit risk frameworks which set the risk appetite, limits, mitigations and monitoring.
Customer credit risk is managed by the Commercial team. Credit limits are established for all customers based on internal or external rating criteria. Shipments to major customers are often covered by letters of credit or other forms of credit insurance.
Credit risk from investments is managed by Treasury in accordance with a Board-approved framework. Investments of surplus funds are made only with approved investment grade (BBB- or above) counterparties who have specific credit limits.
The Group’s overriding objective when managing capital and liquidity is to safeguard the business as a going concern.
Capital is allocated in a consistent and disciplined manner, prioritising sustaining capital expenditure, followed by the ordinary dividend and then an iterative allocation between investing in compelling growth opportunities, maintaining balance sheet strength and delivering further returns to shareholders. Total cash returns to shareholders are expected to be in a range of 40% to 60% of underlying earnings in aggregate throughout the commodity cycle.
How we process personal data provided or obtained through this website.
With the exception of the use of cookies, Rio Tinto generally does not seek to collect personal data through this website. However if you choose to provide personal data to Rio Tinto through this website (for example, by sending us an email), we will process that personal data to answer your query and if relevant, to manage our business relationship with you or your company. We won't process that personal data for other purposes except where required to meet our legal obligations or otherwise as authorised by law and notified to you.
If you choose to subscribe to our media releases or other communications, you can unsubscribe at any time (by following the instructions in the email or by contacting us).
With your consent, our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site. A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive.
As some data privacy laws regulate IP addresses and other information collected through the use of cookies as personal data, Rio Tinto’s processing of such personal data needs to comply with its Data Privacy Standard (see Part 1 of our Privacy Policy), and also applicable data privacy laws.
With the exception of the use of cookies (explained below), Rio Tinto generally does not seek to collect personal data through this website. However if you choose to provide personal data to Rio Tinto through this website (for example, by sending us an email), we will process that personal data to answer your query and if relevant, to manage our business relationship with you or your company. We won't process that personal data for other purposes except where required to meet our legal obligations or otherwise as authorised by law and notified to you.
Part 1 of this Privacy Policy contains the Rio Tinto Data Privacy Standard, which provides an overview of Rio Tinto’s approach to personal data processing. There is additional information in the appendices to the Data Privacy Standard, including information about disclosures, trans-border data transfers, the exercise of data subject rights and how to make complaints or obtain further information relating to Rio Tinto’s processing of your personal data.
If you choose to subscribe to our media releases or other communications, you can unsubscribe at any time (by following the instructions in the email or by contacting us at digital.comms@riotinto.com).
With your consent, our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site.
A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive.
As some data privacy laws regulate IP addresses and other information collected through the use of cookies as personal data, Rio Tinto’s processing of such personal data needs to comply with its Data Privacy Standard (see Part 1 of this Privacy Policy), and also applicable data privacy laws.
These Cookies are used to provide a better user experience on the site, such as by measuring interactions with particular content or remembering your settings such as language or video playback preferences.
These Cookies allow us to analyse site usage in order to evaluate and improve its performance. They help us know how often you come to our site and when, how long you stay and any performance issues you experience whilst you are on our site.
These Cookies are used by advertising companies to inform and serve personalised ads to your devices based on your interests. These Cookies also facilitate sharing information with social networks or recording your interactions with particular ads.