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
Empowering families with flexibility
Supporting new parents of any gender with equal access to parental leave
Available jobs
Join our team
Hosted by material scientist Dr Anna Ploszajski, each episode of Things You Can’t Live Without: Season 1 welcomes a well-known name and a selection of panelists, including a Rio Tinto scientist or expert, to discuss the reliance on the earth’s resources and to look at what needs to happen to create a sustainable future for the everyday items we have come to rely on.
Listen to all of Season 1 episodes on Spotify, Apple, Amazon and YouTube.
World-renowned lexicographer and viral tweeter Susie Dent joins Dr Anna to wax lyrical about her favourite thing - her dictionary.
Joined by our Chief Scientist Nigel Steward, they mine into the components of Susie’s electronic dictionary, explore the etymology of ‘electricity’ and investigate the real-life challenges of electrifying the world in order to create a greener future.
Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple, Amazon and YouTube.
Paralympic gold medallist and ambassador for the Challenged Athletes Foundation Rudy Garcia-Tolson joins Dr Anna to share the one item he can’t live without - his prosthetic legs. Our Chief Advisor of Discovery Marie-Pierre Paquin also joins the conversation. As they track the evolution in prosthetic limbs, Rudy shares memories of search parties being sent out to find parts of his legs during recess, and they investigate the complexity of processing one of the central materials in prosthetics - titanium - which is one of the most abundant metals on earth.
BBC broadcaster and cycling obsessive OJ Borg joins Dr Anna to share the item he can’t live without - his e-bike. Alongside bike historian Tony Hadland and our General Manager of Technical Development Jared Osborne they unearth the explosion in popularity of the e-bike, investigate how you turn rocks into batteries and discuss the impact to the planet of keeping the world charged.
Award-winning Foley artist Shelley Roden joins Dr Anna on the podcast to explain why she can’t live without trash.
As a Foley artist, Shelley spends her days using trash to make the sound effects for live action and animated films. She’s worked on over 200 titles such as Black Panther and Disney’s Encanto and she challenges Dr Anna and our Metallurgical Engineer Saskia Duyvesteyn to a live sound quiz. Together, they look at the value of ‘waste’ and what the circular economy could mean for preserving the resources of this planet.
Singer, songwriter, author and broadcaster Cerys Matthews joins Dr Anna this week to share the items she can’t live without – her climbing equipment.
Mark Davies, our Chief Technical Officer, and climbing curator Nigel Buckley also join Cerys and Dr Anna to discuss the days of climbing with wooden axes, conquering summits, and current breakthroughs in achieving low-carbon aluminium.
Daytime Emmy Award-winning science communicator, podcaster, TV presenter, writer and food buff Alie Ward shares her unquenchable love for the item she can’t live without - her insulated flask.
To help unravel some of the mystery, chemist and broadcaster Andrea Sella helps lift the lid on the science of vacuums and we are joined again by our Chief Advisor of Discovery, Marie-Pierre Paquin, who delivers Alie the amazing news that a future of low carbon steel is coming.
Cooking sensation and 2-time Top Chef winner Buddha Lo joins Dr Anna to share the one item he can’t live without - salt.
Buddha takes us to his kitchen in New York where he explains its critical role in food not just today, but throughout history. Our Chief Advisor Process Development, Amy Lamb, joins to explain salt’s journey from the sea to the table and why you can’t eat the salt you use to grit the road, before Dr Anna asks what lengths they’d go to, to ensure that we didn’t have to live without this vital material.
Chemical biologist and explorer Dr Rosa Vásquez Espinoza shares the one item she can’t live without – her field microscope.
Dr Rosa takes us on an expedition to the Amazon as we understand how integral her microscope is to her work searching for the tiniest creatures. Another exploration expert – our Managing Director of Studies, Alison Morley – shares how she follows the clues found in the patterns in rocks and what they tell us about our earth, before Dr Anna asks Dr Rosa and Alison how we can ensure that these ecosystems being explored are protected for our future.
Spacecraft engineer Dr Leah Alconcel joins Dr Anna to tell her about the one item she can’t live without - her lasers.
From sending spacecraft to Saturn to the prospect of watching TikTok in outer space, Dr Leah shares the critical role that lasers have in her life. We’re joined again by our Chief Scientist Nigel Steward, who reveals how lasers are in fact a fundamental part of everyone’s daily lives and the role of the very small but powerful metals called rare earths which ironically (and thankfully) are not that rare.
Hod Lipson, Columbia University professor and award-winning robotics researcher, shares with Dr Anna the one item he can’t live without - his Graphics Processing Unit (GPU).
The conversation reveals how much GPUs underpin our electronic world, and how one somewhat unsung element - boron - is at the heart of making them work. Our Chief Executive Minerals Sinead Kaufman unpicks what boron is, how it’s extracted, and what needs to be done to keep us having the electronic devices so many of us rely on. We also look at how AI might have a role to play in the future of mining, why boron is “the WD-40 of the world” and what’s being done to help sustainability by “robots eating robots”.