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
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
Bringing to market materials critical to urbanisation and the transition to a low-carbon economy
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 2023
As temporary custodians of the land where we operate, we are entrusted with accessing the world’s essential materials and making them available for society’s use
Climate Change
We’re targeting net zero emissions by 2050
Tailings
We’ve launched a new interactive map of our tailings facilities
We aim to deliver superior returns to our shareholders while safeguarding the environment and meeting our obligations to wider society
Reports 2023
Download our 2023 Annual Report, Climate Change Report, Sustainability Fact Book and Taxes Paid Report
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
A new way to decarbonise steel
Tackling a global challenge
Tackling it all
A short documentary series with the Queensland Reds is inspiring working women everywhere
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
Results from a baseline socio-economic study helped us to develop and implement projects that focus on protecting the environment, community health, education, and local livelihoods. Our education and training initiatives includes the construction of colleges as well as scholarships. We have programmes that focus on each of the priority areas, including, for example, a community health programme and a herders' livelihood support programme.
Water is precious in the arid South Gobi region, which receives on average 97 mm of rainfall each year. The way we manage water resources is of great importance to the local Khanbogd herders, whose livelihoods depend on it. Local herders rely on shallow sources of groundwater from springs and wells for their animals.
Oyu Tolgoi is one of the most water-efficient copper mines in the world. Through innovative recycling and conservation practices, our operation uses 0.42 cubic metres of water per tonne of ore processed – significantly below the global average of 1.2 cubic metres of water per tonne for comparable copper businesses. In addition, more than 85% of water used at Oyu Tolgoi is recycled. We also have a policy of zero direct discharge, meaning that no wastewater will be directly released into the environment - all of the water at Oyu Tolgoi is used and reused until it is lost through evaporation.
In addition to our recycling and water conservation practices, we also work with the community to protect the water in boreholes, existing wells and other community water supplies. One way we do this is through a community water-monitoring programme: we monitor the levels and quality of water in herders' hand-dug wells, and local herders make their own water records for comparison. The data has shown there has been no negative impact on the wells from the mine's operations.
The Cooperation Agreement sets out how Oyu Tolgoi and its partner communities – Umnugovi aimag, and Khanbogd, Manlai, Bayan-Ovoo and Dalanzadgad soums – will work together towards sustainable development in areas such as water, environment, pastureland management, cultural heritage, tourism, local business development and procurement, and was established in Dalanzadgad in 2015.
The main goal of the agreement is to provide a strong governance structure for Oyu Tolgoi and local communities for effective cooperation and to address mutual obligations. Under the agreement, Oyu Tolgoi will make a contribution of US$5 million every year to a Development Support Fund (DSF) – administered jointly between Oyu Tolgoi and the Community – for community programmes and projects in the Umnugovi aimag.
The Cooperation Agreement is a requirement under the Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement (OTIA) and the Mongolian Minerals Law.
At Oyu Tolgoi, we are committed to protecting and preserving the cultural heritage of Mongolia, in particular in the region of the South Gobi. We have established a Cultural Heritage Management System, which outlines processes to ensure the management and protection of tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
Cultural heritage includes tangible heritage in the form of archaeological and paleontological finds, historic buildings, and natural landmarks and intangible heritage in the form of the traditions of the local people, nomadic herding, technology, and folk legends. For example, regarding tangible heritage, we protect and preserve dinosaur tracks in Shar Tsav, and preserve Khanbogd soum’s historical and cultural sites. Examples of intangible heritage include our support of the annual camel festival, traditional ovoo ceremonies and training local people on new methodologies for documenting local oral history.
Between 2010 and 2021, Oyu Tolgoi spent $13.4 billion in-country in the form of salaries, payments to Mongolian suppliers, taxes, donations and other payments to the Government of Mongolia.
Since 2011, Oyu Tolgoi has developed and implemented policies to create a supply chain in Mongolia with a particular focus on the South Gobi region. This includes a ‘Made in Mongolia’ procurement strategy to source products manufactured locally. For example, we awarded a contract to Mongolian shoe factory Khos-Az to supply safety boots to Oyu Tolgoi.
Our South Gobi spend has grown from $0.5 million in 2010 to over $888 million in 2021. The value of the spend with national suppliers that are majority owned by Mongolian citizens now accounts for 71% of overall operational spend, which brings the accumulative total spend with national suppliers to $4.1 billion since 2010.
Learn more about local procurement at Oyu Tolgoi.
Learn more
Find out about our available local opportunities.
We know our operations can have far-reaching impacts on society
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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