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
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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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Stephen D'Esposito is the Founder and CEO of Regeneration, a social enterprise that plans to transform legacy sites into ecological assets while producing critical minerals. Stephen is also the President of RESOLVE.
"What has always fascinated me is how you make change in the world.
I first got into environmental work after graduating from college in the 80s. Then I started working for Greenpeace, which was doing an essential job of bringing issues to the forefront and showing what needed to change.
If you're going to tackle whaling, you put yourself between the harpoon and the whale, and that creates the leverage you need to change practices. But when it comes to something like climate change, it’s much more complicated. It became clear to me that I wanted to keep working on the same issues but, to do that, I had to work with industry to get something constructive done with the companies that were seen as the problem.
And so that's when I started working more closely with certain companies that I thought had an interest in doing things a little differently. I started working a lot on mining issues at that stage – and that’s what led me to start Regeneration.
I'm the unlikely CEO of a mining company, right? Because I come from the environmental community. But in my way of thinking, that combination – where you can bring together mining companies with leadership from civil society and NGOs – is exactly what's needed right now.
Regeneration is a different kind of mining company – we focus first on restoration outcomes. When we identify a restoration opportunity, we then work together with the community to build a closure vision. Then we use re-mining to achieve better community, conservation, and climate outcomes.
Waste from past mining contains metals like cobalt, lithium, copper, platinum and tellurium. That waste can help fuel the energy transition and meet the responsible sourcing needs of green technology and sustainable brands. We go in and remine waste rock and water, take the metals out which are part of the pollution problem, and then turn it into a positive green product to help fuel the energy transition. So mine waste becomes not just a risk, but also an amazing opportunity.
We blend NGO and commercial thinking, and we draw on experts from both sectors. And using this model, we can disrupt the status quo.”
In 2021 Rio Tinto joined forces with RESOLVE, a non-profit organisation, to launch Regeneration, a start-up that will use the re-mining and processing of waste from legacy mine sites to support rehabilitation activities and restore natural environments.
Regeneration will extract valuable minerals and metals from mine tailings, waste rock and water. Earnings from the sale of these responsibly sourced materials will be reinvested to help fund habitat restoration and closure activities, including at legacy and previously abandoned mine sites. Regeneration will also seek to create and trade biodiversity and carbon credits by rehabilitating land and generating environmental offsets.
We’re investing $2 million in Regeneration and will work with them to identify potential opportunities for the first Regeneration project.
Stephen D'Esposito says there are 3 reasons the time is right to re-think mining waste and mine sites.
Over the past few years, our scientists and engineers have been hard at work finding new uses for every material we dig out of the ground and using the by-products of our metal processing operations too. In Canada we’re producing scandium from titanium waste and in the US we’re creating tellurium as a by-product of copper production.
By extracting valuable minerals from waste – or creating new products from the waste itself – we can reduce the amount sent to landfill, make useful products, create new revenue streams and help our customers meet their sustainability goals.
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.
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