project updates

Key project updates

 

Capital projects

Project

(Rio Tinto 100% owned
unless otherwise stated)

Total capital cost

(100% unless
 otherwise stated)

Status/milestones

Iron ore


Project: Western Range
Location: Western Australia (WA), Australia
Ownership: Rio Tinto (54%) and China Baowu Steel Group Co. Ltd (46%)
Capacity: 25 Mtpa
Approval: September 2022
First production: March 2025
To note: The project includes construction of a primary crusher and an 18-kilometre conveyor connection to the Paraburdoo processing.


$1.3bn
(Rio Tinto share)1
  • Officially opened on 6 June 2025 on time and on budget.
  • Planned production ramp-up through 2026.


Project: Brockman (Brockman Syncline 1)
Location: WA, Australia
Ownership: 100%
Capacity: 34 Mtpa
Approval: March 2025
Planned first production: 2027
To note: The project is to extend the life of the Brockman regions in WA.


$1.8bn
  • The project received all necessary State and Federal Government approvals in Q1 enabling bulk earthworks to commence in Q2 and mobilisation of key construction contractors in Q3.
  • First production remains on track for 2027.


Project: Hope Downs 2 (incl. Bedded Hilltop)
Location: WA, Australia
Ownership: Rio Tinto (50%) and Hancock Prospecting (50%)
Capacity: 31 Mtpa
Approval: June 2025
Planned first production: 2027
To note: The project is to extend the life of the Hope Downs 1 operation in WA.


$0.8bn
(Rio Tinto share)
  • Received all necessary State and Federal Government approvals in H1, enabling the commencement of construction activities.
  • Main construction activities continue to progress in line with plan, including bulk earthworks clearing and installation of tunnel segments over the rail line.


Project: Simandou
Location: Guinea, Africa
SimFer mine ownership: SimFer (85%), Government of Guinea (GoG) (15%)
SimFer mine capacity: 60 Mtpa2 (27 Mtpa Rio Tinto share)
Approval: July 2024
Start date: first shipment in December 2025
To note: Investment in the Simandou high-grade iron ore project in Guinea in partnership with CIOH, a Chinalco-led consortium (the SimFer joint venture) and co-development of the rail and port infrastructure with Winning Consortium Simandou3 (WCS), Baowu and the Republic of Guinea (the partners) for the export of up to 120 Mtpa of iron ore mined by SimFer's and WCS's respective mining concessions4. The SimFer joint venture5 will develop, own and operate a 60 Mtpa2 mine in blocks 3 & 4. WCS will construct the project's ~536 kilometre shared dual track main line, a 16 kilometre spur connecting its mine to the mainline as well as the WCS barge port, while SimFer will construct the ~70 kilometre spur line, connecting its mining concession to the main rail line, and the transhipment vessel (TSV) port.

 

 


$6.2bn
(Rio Tinto share)
  • We achieved first ore shipment in December. Ore is being railed from the SimFer mine to the main rail line via the SimFer rail spur and shipped through the WCS port while construction of the SimFer port is finalised. This marked the start of commissioning tests of the common rail to port infrastructure. Commissioning of the common rail to port infrastructure will be a complex process, and once complete, around the end of Q1 2026, we expect a 30 month ramp-up to full capacity.
  • SimFer mine construction progressed to plan, reaching 62% completion by year end, with bulk earthworks and permanent process facilities construction ongoing; ore continues to be crushed and stockpiled via temporary crushers, with first ore through permanent crushing facilities expected in H2 2026.
  • SimFer rail spur: Mechanically complete and operational. Full rail commissioning targeted for Q1 2026. 
  • SimFer port: Advanced ahead of plan with 66% completed. Fabrication of transhipment vessels (TSV) continuing and the first TSV under-construction successfully launched in December in China. SimFer port commissioning is expected in Q1 2027
  • Non-managed infrastructure - our partners confirm that construction is progressing well and is on track.

Aluminium and Lithium

Project: Low-carbon AP60 aluminium smelter
Location: Quebec, Canada
Ownership: Rio Tinto (100%)
Capacity: Project will add 96 new AP60 pots, increasing AP60 capacity by 160,000 tonnes of primary aluminium per annum.
Approval: June 2023
Planned start date: First hot metal and commissioning is expected by Q1 2026, smelter fully ramped up by end of 2026.
To note: The investment includes up to $113 million of financial support from the Quebec government. This new capacity is expected to be in addition to 30,000 tonnes of new recycling capacity at Arvida, which has been rescheduled to open in Q4 2026 (previously Q4 2025).


$1.3bn

  • Starter plant: commissioning completed and start-up in progress, aiming to reach full capacity by end 2026.
  • Regulatory approval received in August, enabling commencement of construction for the battery-grade lithium carbonate plant. Construction activities progressed during H2, including camp expansion works and development of site infrastructure.
  • Expansion project construction of full scale plant remains on track.

Project: Rincon expansion
Location: Salta province, Argentina
Ownership: Rio Tinto (100%)
Capacity: 60 ktpa (battery grade lithium carbonate)
Approval: December 2024
Planned first production: 2028 with three-year ramp-up to full capacity.
To note: Project consists of the 3 ktpa starter plant and 57 ktpa expansion program. The mine is expected to have a 40-year6 life and operate in the first quartile of the cost curve.
 $2.5bn
  • Starter plant: commissioning completed and start-up in progress, aiming to reach full capacity by end 2026.
  • Regulatory approval received in August, enabling commencement of construction for the battery-grade lithium carbonate plant. Construction activities progressed during H2, including camp expansion works and development of site infrastructure.
  • Expansion project construction of full scale plant remains on track.
 
Project: Fénix expansion (1B)
Location: Catamarca province, Argentina
Ownership: Rio Tinto (100%)
Capacity: 10 ktpa LCE (battery grade lithium carbonate)
Planned first production: H2 2026
To note: product is carbonate, chloride.
$0.7bn
  • Project is mechanically complete with commissioning at 60%. Mechanical Vapour Recompression plant commissioned to support planned first production.
  • First production remains on track for H2 2026.
 
Project: Sal de Vida
Location: Catamarca province, Argentina
Ownership: Rio Tinto (100%)
Capacity: 15 ktpa LCE
Planned first production: H2 2026
To note: product is carbonate.
$0.7bn
  • Project is mechanically complete with commissioning at 40%.
  • First production remains on track for H2 2026.
 
 
Project: Nemaska Lithium
Location: Quebec, Canada
Ownership: Rio Tinto (50%), Investissement Québec (50%)
Capacity: 28 ktpa LCE (100%)
Planned first production: 2028
To note: product is integrated lithium hydroxide.
$1.1bn
(Rio Tinto share)
  • Project work progresses at Bécancour hydroxide plant in Quebec. Engineering is now complete with construction at 60%. Commissioning planned to commence in 2026 ahead of first production in 2028.
  • Whabouchi and Galaxy mines: we are undertaking a strategic business and capital discipline review with our partners in Canada to decide which of the two mines we will develop. We expect to make a decision in the first half of 2026, to ensure an integrated solution for spodumene supply to Bécancour is available by 2028.

Copper


Project: Oyu Tolgoi underground mine
Location: Mongolia
Ownership: Rio Tinto (66%), Government of Mongolia (34%)
Capacity: from both the open pit and underground mines, average of ~500 kt7 per year from 2028 to 2036.
Approval: 2016
First production: 2024, ramp-up till 2028
To note: Oyu Tolgoi is set to become the world’s 4th largest copper mine by 2030.


$7.06bn

  • Primary Crusher #2 construction completed ahead of plan in Q3, with first ore delivered in September.
  • Underground project development completed during Q4.
  • Project is now focused on safe handover to operations.  


Project: Kennecott open pit extension
Location: Utah, US
Ownership: Rio Tinto (100%)
Approval: 2019
To note: The project scope includes mine stripping activities and some infrastructure development, including tailings facility expansion. The project will allow mining to continue into a new area of the orebody between 2026 and 2032.


$1.8bn

  • Stripping will continue through 2027 with sustainable ore production from the second phase of the pushback expected to be reached in H2 2027. 


Project: Kennecott North Rim Skarn (NRS) underground development8
Location: Utah, US
Ownership: Rio Tinto (100%)
Capacity: around 250 kt through to 20339
Approval: June 2023
First production: Q4 2025
To note: Original approval for $0.5bn with a further $0.1bn approved in December 2024 for additional infrastructure and geotechnical controls. 


$0.6bn

  • First production from NRS occurred in December 2025 with ramp-up from main stoping ramp sequence in Q1 2026. 

 

Future options

Project

Status

Iron Ore: Pilbara brownfields


Location: WA, Australia
Ownership: Rio Tinto (100%)
Capacity: over the medium term, our Pilbara system capacity remains between 345 and 360 million tonnes per year. Meeting this range, and the planned product mix, will require the approval and delivery of the next tranche of replacement mines over the next five years.
  • 4 of the 5 major replacement mines are currently ramping up or under construction.
  • The Greater Nammuldi extension project continues to be optimised with a pathway to first ore in 20281.             

Iron Ore: Rhodes Ridge


Location: WA, Australia
Ownership: Rio Tinto (50%), Mitsui & Co. (40%), AMB Holdings Pty Ltd (10%)2
Capacity: 40 to 50 Mtpa
First ore: end of decade
To note: The Rhodes Ridge Joint Venture has approved a feasibility study to progress development of the first phase of the Rhodes Ridge project. The feasibility study will assess development of an operation with initial annual production capacity of 40 to 50 Mtpa, and is scheduled to commence in Q1 2026 and expected to conclude in 2029. The development will use Rio Tinto’s rail, port and power infrastructure. Following completion of the pre-feasibility study and with the environmental referral planned, we aim to progress toward reporting an initial Ore Reserve for Rhodes Ridge in 2026, contingent on continued review of all relevant modifying factors.

 

 
  • In December 2025, the Rhodes Ridge Joint Venture approved a $191 million (Rio Tinto share $96 million) feasibility study to progress development of the first phase of the project.
  • The joint venture partners (Rio Tinto 50%, Mitsui 40% and AMB Holdings 10%) intend to invest a further $146 million on exploration between 2026 and 2028 as part of ongoing study phases.
  • The feasibility study is expected to conclude in 2029.

Copper: Resolution


Location: Arizona, US
Ownership: Rio Tinto (55%), BHP (45%)
To note: proposed underground copper mine in the Copper Triangle, in Arizona.
  • On 20 June 2025, the United States Forest Service (USFS) republished the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and draft Record of Decision (ROD). Absent a Court order, this publication would have enabled completion of the congressionally mandated land exchange between Resolution Copper and the federal government. But, on 18 August 2025, as the land exchange neared completion, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an administrative order to enjoin the land exchange.
  • On 6 October 2025, in separate litigation brought by the Apache Stronghold, a non-profit organisation, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the group's petition for rehearing in its case seeking to prevent the land exchange.
  • Oral arguments in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals were completed on 7 January 2026. A decision is anticipated in 2026.
  • Resolution continues to seek to demonstrate to the Courts why the land exchange should proceed as directed by Congress. The land exchange will enable further underground mine development and place thousands of acres of ecologically and culturally significant land into permanent conservation.

Copper: Winu       


Location: WA, Australia
Ownership: Rio Tinto (70%), Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM) (30%)
To note: In late 2017, we discovered copper-gold mineralisation at the Winu project (Paterson Province in Western Australia). In 2021, we reported our first Indicated Mineral Resource. The pathway remains subject to regulatory and other required approvals. Project Agreement negotiations with Nyangumarta and the Martu Traditional Owner Groups remain our priority. 

  • The Joint Venture agreement with SMM was completed on schedule in Q4.
  • The pre-feasibility study with an initial processing capacity development of up to 10 Mtpa was also completed in Q4.
  • The project has advanced to a feasibility study, which is currently in progress and scheduled for completion by the end of 2026.
  • The Environmental Review Document has been submitted to the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for assessment in collaboration and support with both Traditional Owner Groups. 

Copper: La Granja


Location: Cajamarca, Peru
Ownership: Rio Tinto (45%), First Quantum Minerals (55%)
To note: In August 2023, we completed a transaction to form a joint venture with First Quantum Minerals (FQM) that will work to unlock the development of the La Granja project, one of the largest undeveloped copper deposits in the world, with potential to be a large, long-life operation. FQM acquired its stake for $105 million. It will invest up to a further $546 million into the joint venture to sole fund capital and operational costs to take the project through a feasibility study and toward development. world, with potential to be a large, long-life operation.             
  • Evaluation of drill results is underway - results are expected in Q1 2026.
  • Progressing the feasibility study.

Aluminium: Arctial partnership 


Location: Finland
To note: Partnership agreement with the Swedish investment company Vargas, Mitsubishi Corporation and other international and local industry partners to study a low carbon aluminium greenfield opportunity in Finland. As the strategic industrial partner, Rio Tinto will provide the Arctial partnership with access to its proven industry-leading AP60 technology
and assist in what would be the first AP60 deployment in an aluminium smelter outside Quebec, Canada. 

  • Arctial JV was formally established in Q2 2025 and a pre-feasibility study and environmental impact assessment study were conducted during the remainder of 2025.
  • The JV partners will review the outcome of those studies and are expected to consider next steps for further development of the project during Q1 2026.
     

Lithium             


Location: Argentina 

  • Developing the blueprint in 2026 for two future hubs, targeting $30/kg capital intensity with a 30-month timeline for development and <$5/kg C1 operating costs. 

Lithium


Location: Atacama region, Chile
To note:

  • Binding agreement to form a joint venture (JV) with Codelco to develop and operate the high-grade Salar de Maricunga project.
  • Binding agreement with ENAMI to form a JV to develop the Salares Altoandinos project. 
  • Expected agreement closure dates: H1 2026 (for both Maricunga and Altoandinos), subject to receipt of all applicable regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. 

Lithium

Location: Serbia
Ownership: Rio Tinto (100%)
To note: Development of the greenfield Jadar lithium-borates project in Serbia to include an underground mine with associated infrastructure and equipment, as well as a beneficiation chemical processing plant.
  • Project has been moved to care and maintenance.

  • Footnotes

    1. Rio Tinto share of the Western Range capital cost includes 100% of funding costs for Paraburdoo plant upgrades.
    2. The estimated annualised capacity of approximately 60 million dry tonnes per annum iron ore for the Simandou life of mine schedule was previously reported in a release to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) dated 6 December 2023 titled “Investor Seminar 2023”. Rio Tinto confirms that all material assumptions underpinning that production target continue to apply and have not materially changed.
    3. WCS is the holder of Simandou North Blocks 1 & 2 (with the Government of Guinea holding a 15% interest in the mining vehicle and WCS holding 85%) and associated infrastructure. WCS was originally held by WCS Holdings, a consortium of Singaporean company, Winning International Group (50%) and Weiqiao Aluminium (part of the China Hongqiao Group) (50%). On 19 June 2024, Baowu Resources completed the acquisition of a 49% share of WCS mine and infrastructure projects with WCS Holdings holding the remaining 51%. In the case of the mine, Baowu also has an option to increase to 51% during operations. During construction, SimFer will hold 34% of the shares in the WCS infrastructure entities with WCS holding the remaining 66%.
    4. WCS holds the mining concession for Blocks 1 & 2, while SimFer holds the mining concession for Blocks 3 & 4. SimFer and WCS will independently develop their mines.
    5. SimFer Jersey Limited is a joint venture between the Rio Tinto Group (53%) and Chalco Iron Ore Holdings Ltd (CIOH) (47%), a Chinalco-led joint venture of leading Chinese SOEs (Chinalco (75%), Baowu (20%), China Rail Construction Corporation (2.5%) and China Harbour Engineering Company (2.5%)). SimFer S.A. is the holder of the mining concession covering Simandou Blocks 3 & 4, and is owned by the Guinean State (15%) and SimFer Jersey Limited (85%). SimFer Infraco Guinée S.A. will deliver SimFer’s scope of the codeveloped rail and port infrastructure, and is co-owned by SimFer Jersey (85%) and the Guinean State (15%). SimFer Jersey will ultimately own 42.5% of La Compagnie du Transguinéen, which will own and operate the co-developed infrastructure during operations.
    6. The production target of approximately 53 kt of battery grade lithium carbonate per year for a period of 40 years was previously reported in a release to the ASX dated 4 December 2024 titled “Rincon Project Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves: Table 1”. Rio Tinto confirms that all material assumptions underpinning that production target continue to apply and have not materially changed. Plans are in place to build for a capacity of 60 kt of battery grade lithium carbonate per year with debottlenecking and improvement programs scheduled to unlock this additional throughput. Capacity of 60 ktpa is comprised of 3 ktpa starter plant, 50 ktpa full scale plant and 7 ktpa additional optimisation.
    7. The ~500 thousand tonne per year copper production target (stated as recoverable metal) for the Oyu Tolgoi underground and open pit mines for the years 2028 to 2036 was previously reported in a release to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) dated 11 July 2023 “Investor site visit to Oyu Tolgoi copper mine, Mongolia”. All material assumptions underpinning that production target continue to apply and have not materially changed.
    8. The NRS Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, together with the Lower Commercial Skarn (LCS) Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, form the Underground Skarns Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves.
    9. The 250 thousand tonne copper production target for the Kennecott underground mines over the years 2023 to 2033 was previously reported in a release to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) dated 20 June 2023 "Rio Tinto invests to strengthen copper supply in US”. All material assumptions underpinning that production target continue to apply and have not materially changed.

Annual report 2025

2025 Annual report
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Annual Report 2025 – ESEF Format
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