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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Healthy natural environments with functioning ecosystems are key to climate resilience. They also provide important services to the communities where we operate and our business. We are committed to protecting biodiversity with the ambition of achieving no net loss. This means striking a balance between negative impacts on biodiversity and positive outcomes achieved through the application of the mitigation hierarchy.
We continue to engage externally on our approach to learn from others. For example, in 2021 we participated in the Informal Working Group on the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (the precursor to the now launched Task Force). We also participated in the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Nature-based Solutions to contribute ideas on how best to scale up natural climate solutions in addition to emissions reduction projects. We have now established a team to investigate potential investment in natural climate solutions on or near our landholdings. We believe these initiatives can help mitigate our emissions, support biodiversity protection and positively contribute to the many diverse communities that host us globally.
Working to protect marine turtles through community partnerships
We continue to assess the sensitivity of our planned activities using combined global datasets of threatened species and conservation and protected areas, developed by the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP WCMC). This helps inform our risk-prioritisation of assets in areas of high biodiversity, including exploration and project sites, and supports our allocation of resources. In 2022, we enhanced the resolution of our assessments with improved geo-spatial data for our assets, ensuring the protection of sensitive areas in proximity to our activities.
As a founding partner of UNEP WCMC’s 19-year-old Proteus Partnership, and aligned with our drive to build our internal capability, we continued to deliver biodiversity training to employees across the business. In 2022, we prioritised QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM), Simandou and our Commercial team in China to receive biodiversity training, which we delivered in their respective languages.
We continue to innovate to help us become better environmental stewards. At QMM and Simandou, we have begun assessing the feasibility of using new environmental DNA technology to help us understand the full scope of species in and around our operations, allowing for more tailored and effective mitigation measures. In 2023, we are looking to expand this approach according to our sites’ risk prioritisation. At our Weipa operations in Australia, we trialled machine learning to help us with monitoring by replicating human identification of the endangered Palm Cockatoo, freeing up resources for increased conservation work.
We also invested C$2.67 million to support the Saguenay Fjord Ecosystem Research Group in Quebec, Canada, which brings together researchers and professionals from INREST1, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, and Université Laval. The group will document and understand the factors that influence the Saguenay Fjord ecosystem, which is both a unique natural ecosystem and a crucial waterway for the economy of the Saguenay– Lac-Saint-Jean region and the province of Quebec. This knowledge will help keep our shipping operations running in a way that is safe for the Saguenay ecosystem.
In 2022, we completed an independent review of the monitoring programmes of our high-priority biodiversity sites, which included ensuring that management plans and actions adequately address risks to nature.
At the Simandou project in Guinea, and drawing on data collected over the last decade, in 2022 we continued updating our baseline assessments. In the second quarter of 2023, we will publish the revised Environmental and Social Impact Assessment.
In Australia, because many of our operations are situated on the coast and our value chain is dependent on marine transport, we invest in marine research to address potential impacts.
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For example, our Cape Lambert port, in Western Australia, is next to Bells Beach, a regionally significant mainland rookery for the threatened flatback turtle. Since 2002, we have conducted annual field work at Bells Beach, Delambre Island and other regional sites to monitor the visiting turtle populations. To protect these breeding grounds, we adopted measures such as feral animal control, light management and dune protection. We do this work in ongoing partnership with the local community, regulators and the Ngarluma people – the area’s Traditional Owners. Sharing the programme learnings is one way we help others support the conservation of these marine turtles.
At QIT Madagascar Minerals, we have established three protected conservation areas – around 2,095 hectares of forest – within the region.
These areas, which are home to unique plant and animal species like lemurs, are carefully managed in partnership with local civil society organisations and community groups, helping further mitigate biodiversity impacts and ensuring availability of natural resources for communities.
One such species is the millipede – a critically important species for the health of the local forest ecosystem. Madagascar’s littoral forests grow on low-nutrient sands flushed by heavy rains, and so millipedes play a key role in decomposing leaves and other plant matter, to produce natural fertiliser for plant growth. By establishing conservation zones, we can help protect the millipedes as well as the healthy ecosystem they support.
In California, we use a local beekeeper to rehouse bees found onsite, helping keep both the bees and our employees safe.
Like many other insects, honeybee populations around the world are experiencing sharp declines: threats such as intensive farming, climate change, pesticides, diseases and invasive species are combining to create a hostile environment. So conservation efforts, such as those at Boron, are more important than ever.
The bees’ role as a pollinator is of enormous value both in stimulating natural biodiversity and in making many crops viable. At Boron, we move the bees to the operation’s 31 km2 (nearly 12 square miles) conservation land, adjacent to the mine, where they can forage on wildflowers and pollinate the local flora. They are later moved near commercial orchards to help pollinate crops like almonds, cherries, plums and avocados.
Our environmental standards guide the way we identify and manage environmental risks. They are developed using international best practices, often with the help of academic, civil society and Indigenous partners. We also work closely with local communities and Indigenous Peoples to plan for, and monitor, potential impacts from our operations and carry out mitigation activities. At our Weipa operations in Far North Queensland, Australia, for example, we set up the Land and Sea Management programme, which employs Traditional Owners to help monitor and manage cultural heritage, plants and land and marine wildlife to ensure minimal disruption.
We have also set up a number of independent panels at some of our sites to guide and help us. At QIT Madagascar Minerals, for example, we have established a Biodiversity and Natural Resources Management Committee – which the International Union for the Conservation of Nature facilitates – that includes experts in biodiversity and community management of natural resources. This committee helps us implement and monitor our biodiversity work and balance the natural resource needs of local communities.
We also contribute to regional biodiversity research and conservation efforts, such as the Nechako White Sturgeon Recovery Initiative in British Columbia, Canada. The Nechako White Sturgeon is a survivor from the age of dinosaurs and the largest freshwater fish in the country. We were a founding member of the Initiative – a partnership between all levels of government, environmental groups and First Nations peoples – which aims to prevent further declines of Nechako White Sturgeon numbers, ultimately rebuilding a self-sustaining population.
Australia's northern quolls, a small spotty marsupial, are doing it pretty tough – so tough, in fact, they are listed as an endangered species.
Quolls were once a common sight in Australia, but over the years introduced species like poisonous cane toads and feral cats have decimated these cute, furry creatures. So when we found a small population of quolls living at our Weipa bauxite operations, in far northern Australia, our team went to work to protect them.
We found and recorded a number of quolls as part of our regular baseline ecological surveys, and took the opportunity to carry out further research. With the data we collected, we were able to demonstrate the importance of the area, which meant that mining was excluded from that part of the lease.
As well as avoiding disturbance in the area where the quolls were found, we have been working with ecologists and the local Nanum Wungthim Land and Sea Rangers to learn more about the northern quoll populations in the area. This includes monitoring the population using motion sensor cameras, and conducting tracking studies to follow the movements of quolls fitted with radio emitting collars. Both programmes have provided valuable insights into northern quoll ecology and how we can help protect these beautiful animals.
We continually monitor our impacts and redefine our approach. If we need to make changes to the design of our operations, we re-evaluate our land management and rehabilitation plans and adjust them accordingly.
One such risk, particularly in more tropical climates, is the spread of invasive species – either by directly or indirectly creating environmental conditions that encourage them to thrive or by introducing them to a new area. Since the time of explorers, the movement of goods and people has resulted in some species establishing themselves where they interfere with naturally occurring species. In such cases, the best way to protect biodiversity is to eradicate invasive species and ensure that we do not introduce new ones as a result of our activities.
It is therefore important that we constantly monitor these species to ensure that control measures are working.
For example, in Gove, in Australia’s Northern Territory, Yellow Crazy Ants are considered to be one of the world’s worst invasive ant pests. The ants pose a major threat to Australia's biodiversity, out-competing and displacing native insects, which are crucial for ecosystem health. Since 2003, we have been working with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Yolngu Business Enterprise on eradicating the Yellow Crazy Ant through detection and baiting.
We even use dogs: Gove Operations Rehabilitation Specialist Faye Lawton, who has been part of the eradication project since the start, says that having detection dog Jet on the team is a huge benefit. “Jet has been trained as a wildlife conservation detection dog and is fantastic at finding where a particular species – in this case Yellow Crazy Ants – might be hiding. Trials show that detection dogs are able to locate targeted species up to 300% more effectively than humans, so we are extremely lucky to have him here helping our environmental team map any Yellow Crazy Ant locations,” she said. Jet’s ability to detect the species is amazing and has meant that the team have been able to assess the monitoring results and tailor the programme to ensure the species is on the way to eradication.
We use the mitigation hierarchy – a well-established method to address biodiversity risks – to ensure that we effectively manage our risks and impacts on the areas where we work. This includes:
We look for opportunities to change or stop an activity to preserve biodiversity. For example, by avoiding disturbing an area where threatened species are found. At our QIT Madagascar Minerals Mandena mine site, we have committed to exclude 430 hectares of littoral forest from our mine plan as a community-managed protected area.
Where we cannot completely stop an activity or avoid an area, we look for ways to reduce our impacts. This includes things like speed limits on our haulage roads to protect wildlife, adding bird deflectors to transmission lines – as we do at our Oyu Tolgoi operations in Mongolia – and maintaining wildlife corridors and buffer zones in areas where we are operating – like at Richards Bay Minerals in South Africa.
We progressively revegetate disturbed land wherever possible, such as at our heavy mineral and our bauxite mining operations in South Africa and Madagascar, and Australia, respectively. Where this is not possible until closure, we have detailed rehabilitation plans for when mining in the area is finished. This includes working with scientists and local Indigenous people to make sure we are restoring land the right way.
These are actions we can take to address significant residual impacts we cannot avoid, minimise or restore. At our Weipa Operations in Far North Queensland, Australia, for example, we established an offset area, which includes sensitive ecosystems and is managed in partnership with Wik and Wik-Waya Traditional Owners.
We aim to thoughtfully steward the land on which we operate
We see ourselves as water stewards and take that commitment seriously
Whatever our activity, we consider the potential to harm the environment through pollution
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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.
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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