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
We are 150
150 years of finding better ways
Iron Ore
Iron ore is the primary raw material used to make steel
7 things the world will need for a low-carbon future
Wind, sun and water – what else do you need to make renewable energy work?
Sustainability – the expectation, not the exception
Shaping our aluminium product offering to meet demand for greener metals
We work across six continents in around 35 countries
Look inside a mine of the future
Our most intelligent mine yet is pioneering new mining technologies
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
Sustainability Reporting 2022
We have a responsibility to extract the full value from the minerals and materials we produce in the safest and most sustainable way possible
Climate Change
We’re targeting net zero emissions by 2050
Water
Sharing our water usage
We aim to deliver superior returns to our shareholders while safeguarding the environment and meeting our obligations to wider society
Rio Tinto Limited 2023 AGM
Perth: 4 May 2023
Get the latest news, stories and updates
Breaking new ground for copper supply
Taking the world’s fourth-largest copper mine underground
The slow journey from red mud to green plants
Finding new ways to rehabilitate red mud
Road to a greener future
Rio Tinto Partners with BMW Group on Premium Aluminium Car Parts
Discover more about life at Rio Tinto
Graduates & 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
share
Marine turtles have swum the world's oceans for more than 100 million years.
Seven species exist, globally. Over the last few decades their numbers have declined significantly, largely due to human influence – climate change and sea level rise; fishing nets and debris that turtles eat or become entangled in; boats, vehicles and coastal development disturbing their habitats; and light and noise pollution affecting their nesting habits, to name just a few.
Western Australia is home to six of these seven species, and they are all protected at both State and Commonwealth levels in Australia.
Our Cape Lambert port in Western Australia is next to Bells Beach – an important mainland rookery for the flatback turtle, the only marine turtle species that nests solely in Australia.
We recognise our responsibility to mitigate our operations' impact. And although globally human intervention is the main reason these 'ancient mariners' are dwindling, we're taking a proactive approach to protect local turtle populations.
One of the reasons the turtle population is so affected by humans is because marine turtles are very particular about how and when they nest.
Flatback turtles can live to well over 50 years, and don't begin to breed until they're over 16 years of age. Even once they're breeding age, they usually only nest every 2 to 7 years, laying several clutches of approximately 50 eggs separated by an 'inter-nesting interval' of approximately 12 days.
They also swim for hundreds of kilometres to return to where they were born to mate and nest – a powerful instinct given decades have usually passed since they left. Only the adult females leave the ocean when they nest, and any disruption – including light pollution, loud noises, or humans – can cause them to abandon their attempts.
Since 2002, we've conducted annual field work at Bells Beach in Western Australia, to monitor the visiting turtle populations carefully and safely. We've also partnered with the local community, government and the Ngarluma people – the area's Traditional Owners – to support turtle monitoring and research at other regionally significant breeding grounds, including Delambre Island, Rosemary Island and local beaches in the Cape Lambert area.
In 2005, we partnered with Western Australia's Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) to create the West Pilbara Turtle Program (WPTP) – a community-based program of volunteers who monitor the beach every day for turtle nesting activity, and run night tours to help raise community awareness of flatbacks and their conservation.
Initially, we monitored populations by counting their tracks. But as the science has progressed, so has our approach. We now use two tagging techniques; monitor light, sand and in-nest temperature; and observe hatchling success and behaviour. We use the data to model turtle breeding patterns and numbers, and to help inform decisions about resourcing and initiatives to improve their conservation in future.
In addition to monitoring the nests and turtles, our operations play an important role in turtle conservation, including restricting vehicle access to Bells Beach, monitoring and protecting critical sand dune habitat and implementing an annual feral animal control program.
We also help to minimise artificial light impacts by using lights which turtles are less sensitive to, and preventing direct light spill onto the beach. This is vital, because when hatchlings emerge from their nests, they move towards the brighter horizon over water and away from the darkness of the beach, so any other light or 'light spill' can disorientate their important journey to the sea.
All of these initiatives have required enormous collaboration and effort on the part of all parties involved over more than a decade. We hope this longevity of effort will ensure a turtle legacy for future generations.
While there is natural variability in turtle nesting numbers each year, the 2021 nesting season was very encouraging.
"By the end of last season, we'd surpassed the highest turtle count we have modelled since beginning this monitoring program,” said Lucas, Rio Tinto Cape Lambert's Environmental Advisor.
"We counted 252 nests the monitoring program and modelled 393 for the whole season – the highest turtle nest count we've ever modelled is 274 nests.
"Given turtles don't nest every year, we expect to see fluctuations in nesting numbers. The high nest numbers from last year were well received, especially after the previous season experienced low numbers across the region.
"It's essential that we work together with government and community groups in a combined effort to conserve a species like the flatback turtle. Environmental initiatives like this one ensure the next generation understands and is engaged in protecting the environment, now and into the future."
Following the nesting period, Lucas said the team monitored nests to count hatchlings as they emerged.
"We also had a great season for hatchlings, with our team monitoring hatchling success and behaviour to ensure the future viability of this species," he said.
"We had a high hatchling success rate and lots of nests erupting throughout the monitoring period. Overall, I would say it was a highly successful season."
The turtle season kicked off again in October 2022. Along with our community partners, we monitored the flatbacks during peak nesting season in November and December, and hope to see a strong nesting and hatching season, with hatchlings due to emerge in late January and February.
We have renewed our funding of the Delambre, Rosemary and WPTP partnerships until June 2025. Long-term monitoring is essential to successfully protect these long-lived species, so we look forward to continuing our relationship with the region's Traditional Owners, the DBCA, and the local community to jointly conserve marine turtles in Western Australia, now and in the future.
Minimising our impact on the environment
Researching new techniques to rehabilitate land
Investing in conservation will accelerate decarbonisation
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.