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
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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
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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
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Today, we use copper in pots and pans, in the water pipes in our homes, and in the radiators in our cars. Copper also plays an essential role in computers, smartphones, electronics, appliances and construction.
Copper also promises to play an essential role in the transition to the low-carbon economy. Just one 1MW wind turbine, for example, uses three tonnes of copper. And electric vehicles have a copper intensity 3-4 times higher than traditional vehicles. As a result, global demand for copper is set to grow 1.5%-2.5% per year, driven by electrification and increasing requirements for renewable energy.
Copper has many important jobs, but it is hard to beat helping people hear for the first time. How? Copper is used as a tiny antenna in many hearing aids. And bonus: it has antimicrobial properties too, meaning it helps keep bacteria away.
Copper is the best non-precious conductor of heat and electricity on the planet. So it is found in everything from the electrical wiring in your house to renewable power sources like wind turbines. And because it can help things work more efficiently, it is going to play an important part in a more sustainable future.
Our very first mine was a copper mine on the banks of the Rio Tinto river, in Andalusia, Spain – bought in 1873 by a British-European investor group led by Scottish entrepreneur Hugh Matheson. Today, our copper operations around the world are at various stages in the mining lifecycle, from exploration to rehabilitation. At each of our copper operations, we use leading-edge technologies that drive safe, efficient and productive methods of extracting, processing and refining copper, supplying customers in China, Japan and the US.
Oyu Tolgoi, in the South Gobi region of Mongolia, is one of the largest known copper and gold deposits in the world. When the underground mine is complete, it will be the fourth-largest copper mine in the world.
Our Kennecott mine is a world-class, integrated copper mining operation located just outside Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. Our Kennecott mine produces gold, silver and tellurium as byproducts of our copper mining. We’ve also progressed pre-feasibility studies further push back the northern wall to extend open-pit mining beyond 2032, and are advancing studies to support an underground mine below the existing open pit, due to be complete by 2024. Potential underground mining would occur concurrently with open pit operations and result in increased copper output.
In 2019, after 75 years of operation, Kennecott retired its coal-fired power plant in Magna, Utah. Power for the operation will come from renewable energy certificates purchased from Rocky Mountain Power – primarily from wind and solar resources.
Closing the plant and acquiring renewable energy certificates will remove more than one million tons of carbon dioxide every year from Kennecott’s Wasatch Front operations, reducing its annual carbon footprint by as much as 65%. The renewable energy certificate program is Green-e energy certified, and meets the environmental and consumer-protection standards set by the Center for Resource Solutions.
In 2020, Kennecott and Oyu Tolgoi became the first producers to be awarded the Copper Mark, the copper industry’s new independent responsible production programme. To achieve the Copper Mark – developed according to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – Kennecott’s and Oyu Tolgoi’s copper was assessed against 32 criteria covering Environment, Community, Business and Human Rights, Labour and Working Conditions and Governance.
At the Resolution Copper Project in the US, we continue ongoing stakeholder engagement in our effort to seek consent to progress the project consistent with the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) Statement on Indigenous Peoples and Mining.
And in 2020 we announced the maiden resource at Winu, a copper and gold project in Western Australia with the potential to become a large-scale operation over time.
Operations awarded the Copper Mark, verifying copper from Kennecott and Oyu Tolgoi is responsibly produced
Copper growth projects in the US, Mongolia & Australia
Copper cathode is a primary raw material used in semi-fabricated products such as copper wire rods for the wire and cable industry. Copper is a crucial raw material used in electrification and clean energy infrastructure and is essential for the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Molybdenum is a common by-product of copper mining. It is a primary raw material used in a variety of applications in the metal manufacturing industry.
Sulfuric acid is a useful by-product obtained during the smelter's copper production process. It is used in a variety of applications, such as the manufacturing of fertiliser and paper processing.
Our silver and gold bars are accredited through the Responsible Jewellery Council’s Code of Practice, the Responsible Jewellery Council’s Chain of Custody, and the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Responsible Gold and Silver refiner/delivery list.
Tellurium is an essential component of cadmium telluride, which is a semiconductor used to manufacture thin film photovoltaic solar panels. Selenium is commonly used in the glass manufacturing industry to produce pigments, while lead carbonate is used for manufacturing batteries.
Our Kennecott mine is a world-class, integrated copper mining operation located just outside Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States
Oyu Tolgoi is one of the largest known copper and gold deposits in the world.
Being honoured as the world’s first responsibly produced
Four technologies you’ll see in copper mines of the future
E: Copper Cathodes Sales
E: Copper Concentrate Sales
E: Sulfuric Acid Sales
E: Precious Metals Sales
E: Molybdenum Sales
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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.
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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.
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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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