Aerial shot of Gove operations

Planning Gove’s next chapter together

We’re working towards a responsible transition from mining, centred around Traditional Owners, community and partnership

Shannon Price, General Manager – Gove
Shannon Price is General Manager of our Gove operations in the Northern Territory, Australia. She leads our bauxite mining operations and the Gove closure program, including closure planning, rehabilitation and social transition. Shannon is committed to sustainable transition in collaboration with the community, that delivers long-term benefits beyond bauxite mining. 
Last updated: 19 October 2026

Last Mining has played a role in everyday life at Gove for around 60 years. It’s helped shape the region in that time, bringing both opportunities and challenges, and reinforcing the importance of working closely with communities and Traditional Owners. 

Rio Tinto has been part of the community since 2007, and our predecessors mined bauxite here for 40 years before that. Today, our Gove operation supplies bauxite from the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, to the aluminium industry. 

Bauxite mining operations will finish here in 2029. And while rehabilitation and closure works will continue for some time after that, the end of bauxite mining on the peninsula will close one chapter in the ancient history of Gove. 

What comes next is an opportunity to show collective leadership in how industry, Traditional Owners and the Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments can work together through the Gove Peninsula Futures Reference Group to help shape a strong post-mining future for the region. 

As a group, we’re making progress, and each of us has a distinct and vital role to play. For our part, Rio Tinto is focused on a responsible transition that is practical, phased, strategic and grounded in genuine partnership and opportunity. 

Putting the community at the centre 

This is a critical period of planning and action for Gove and we're working together towards a smooth transition for the town of Nhulunbuy that benefits the peninsula. 

It’s a simple principle for me: if a community has supported an operation for decades, that community should be supported through the transition that follows. 

Together with the Gove Peninsula Futures Reference Group, governments and Traditional Owners, we’re mapping future land use options, understanding how we can support employees who want to stay in the region, and strengthening the community’s skills and business prospects beyond mining. 

Our role is to support our partners and their vision for the future of the region, which includes responding to some of the immediate challenges facing the community today. 

One of the biggest challenges in Nhulunbuy is housing availability, particularly for essential workers who need to relocate to and stay in the region. We have offered to release 25 of our houses, which had been occupied by our employees, by the end of this year to help address that need. Since 2025, we’ve offered a 22% concession on electricity and water charges, reducing costs for eligible local organisations that support community programs across Nhulunbuy and Yirrkala. And we’re investing more than $11 million in infrastructure projects over 2026-7, including resealing the airport road and intersection upgrades, in addition to our regular maintenance and operating activities. 

Building skills and opportunities for the future 

Preparing for transition also means strengthening local skills and future readiness well before mining ends. 

We’ve partnered with Charles Darwin University on a future skills study to map training pathways for Yolŋu organisations, and made a significant contribution to the Barawun Centre in Yirrkala to improve its infrastructure and help people find jobs. 

We’re funding a multi-year careers program across 6 local schools to help young people prepare for opportunities in a post-mining economy, and working with Marngarr Resource Centre on a financial literacy and empowerment pilot for households. 

Our commercial partnerships with local businesses are another important part of this work. For example, while we have been customers of Gulkula mine for many years, we are looking forward to partnering with them to mine some of our bauxite reserves in our final years of operation. We also continue our important partnership with Rirratjingu Fuel and Cambridge Gulf to supply fuel for our operations through to the end of mining.  

These relationships support our operations today while helping strengthen local capability and opportunity for the future.

Creating opportunities from existing infrastructure 

A successful transition is not only about preparing for the end of mining. It is also about looking at what can remain and how existing assets could support new opportunities. 

We’ve worked with Aboriginal corporations and the Northern Territory Government to retain infrastructure that had previously been identified as non-critical and scheduled for demolition when proponents expressed interest in post-mining opportunities. 

We’re also listening to feedback from local stakeholders and considering ways to transfer land and assets earlier and more efficiently where they are no longer needed for mining. This could help support new growth in the region. 

Gove has important infrastructure, including a deepwater port, fuel storage, an airport and industrial assets, that could help support future economic development in Northern Australia if transitioned in a way that aligns with Traditional Owner aspirations. 

On fuel storage specifically, we strongly support the Northern Territory Chief Minister’s proposal to reconfigure our harbour fuel tanks, which has the potential to establish new industry and create jobs for the region. 

We’ve also commissioned 2 solar farms which together are capable of lowering annual carbon emissions by more than 12,000 tonnes. These farms could form part of the foundation for a lower-carbon future for the Nhulunbuy community after mining operations cease. 

Rehabilitating Country 

Our responsibility extends to rehabilitating the land affected by our operations. 

After 5 years of work, we’ve completed rehabilitation of Pond 5, our largest residue disposal area. We partnered with Traditional Owner organisations, including Rirratjingu and Gumatj, on landscaping and irrigation works for the project, along with the supply of other materials. 

Gumatj continues to be a valued partner across a range of our activities, including multi-year agreements around mine rehabilitation and seed collection, as well as shorter-term contracts for road maintenance and housing demolition. 

These partnerships provide continuing opportunities for local participation while supporting our operations and closure activities.

Land tenure and certainty for the future 

There has also been important progress on land tenure – a critical enabler of future investment, asset transfer and community confidence. 

On the Gove Peninsula, Traditional Owners hold the legal rights to use and manage the land, while we operate under special leases that allow mining and township activities. 

As shared at Garma Festival, I was very pleased to hear that the Government has reached in-principle agreement with Rirratjingu Aboriginal Corporation on a future land tenure model that gives greater certainty for the town’s future. Progress like this reflects the importance of people and organisations being willing to work together on issues that require careful consideration, and I’d like to acknowledge Aboriginal corporations including Gumatj and Rirratjingu for their willingness to work together and their ongoing support of our operations over many years. 

I’d also like to acknowledge the progress made towards our shared goal of a positive post-mining future by the Northern Territory Government and our partners across the region. 

A shared responsibility for Gove’s next chapter 

This transition is complex, but the best outcomes in remote Australia are achieved when planning is shared, responsibilities are clear, and we keep local voices at the centre of all discussions and decisions. 

Alongside our partners in the Gove Peninsula Futures Reference Group, we’re active in critical conversations aiming to create lasting benefits beyond the life of our current operations. 

This is about creating the right conditions for the next chapter: building on the strengths of a unique region, supporting local people and creating opportunities for future generations. 

I feel a personal responsibility to help get this transition right. Our role is to listen, support our partners and help remove barriers. 

After around 60 years of mining, Gove’s next chapter will not be shaped by any one organisation. 

It will be shaped together. 

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