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
The primary raw material used to make steel, which is strong, long-lasting and cost-efficient
Lithium
The lightest of all metals, it is a key element needed for low-carbon technologies
Copper
Tough but malleable, corrosion-resistant and recyclable, and an excellent conductor of heat and transmitter of electricity
Bringing to market materials critical to urbanisation and the transition to a low-carbon economy
Oyu Tolgoi
One of the most modern, safe and sustainable operations in the world
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
Climate Change
We’re targeting net zero emissions by 2050
Tailings
Details of our tailings facilities can be found on our interactive tailings disclosure map
Communities
The strength of our relationships with the communities where we operate, and broader society, is fundamental to our business
We aim to deliver superior returns to our shareholders while safeguarding the environment and meeting our obligations to wider society
North America site visit, 24 September 2024
An investor site visit to our Aluminium operations in the Saguenay and our Iron & Titanium business in Sorel, Quebec, Canada
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
The 'f' word of innovation
How unlocking innovation requires a change of mindset
Reducing titanium oxide's carbon footprint
Our BlueSmelting technology could drastically reduce carbon emissions during ore processing
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
TAMARACK, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The US Department of Energy has awarded $2.2 million of funding to a Rio Tinto-led team to explore carbon storage potential at the Tamarack nickel joint venture in central Minnesota.
Rio Tinto has assembled a team of climate innovation and research leaders to explore new approaches in carbon mineralisation technology as a way to safely and permanently store carbon as rock. Rio Tinto will contribute $4 million in funding for the 3-year project, in addition to the funding from the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E Innovation Challenge.
Carbon mineralisation uses natural chemical reactions to convert captured carbon dioxide (CO2) into rock and store it underground. It has the potential to be an important technology in meeting global climate goals and is now being used at large scale by the world’s leading carbon mineralisation company Carbfix in Iceland.
Rio Tinto’s technical experts will work with partners including the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), which has demonstrated carbon mineralisation technology in Washington state; Columbia University; Carbfix; and Advantek Waste Management Services. Talon Metals, the majority owner and operator of the Tamarack Nickel Project and Rio Tinto’s joint venture partner, is contributing ore body knowledge and land access for scientific field work.
Rio Tinto Chief Scientist Dr Nigel Steward said “Our aim is to deliver carbon storage solutions that can help to meet climate targets by reducing and offsetting emissions from our operations and in other industries, and to explore the emerging commercial opportunities carbon storage may offer at Rio Tinto sites around the world. We will be working with leading researchers and innovators to prove the carbon storage potential of the Tamarack site and develop mineralisation solutions that can be used not just here but at other similar locations.”
PNNL CO2 subsurface sequestration expert Todd Schaef said “This work will leverage the knowledge gained from PNNL’s Wallula Basalt Carbon Storage Pilot Project, the only supercritical CO2 injection in basalt demonstration in the world. We will be developing forward-looking carbon storage strategies with Rio Tinto and the broader team. PNNL stewards a suite of capabilities that allow us to look at real-time CO2 interactions with rocks under extreme conditions. We are proud to bring interdisciplinary expertise with computational scientists, geochemists, and engineers who have been researching the subsurface mineralisation of CO2 for decades.”
Columbia Climate School Founding Dean Sir Alex Halliday said “We are truly excited by the opportunity that this partnership brings to rapidly advance carbon management technologies at scale. This is an important project and a superb example of the work for which the Columbia Climate School was established; bringing climate knowledge to action through transdisciplinary projects with critical public and private partnerships. We look forward to much more to come.”
Carbfix CEO Dr. Edda Aradottir said “This project will bring together leading industrial players, academics and experts demonstrating the international partnerships needed for accelerated climate action. Carbfix is a global pioneer in carbon mineralization with a proprietary technology that can play a vital role in climate action, having over a decade long experience in safely injecting and storing CO2 from emission sources as well as the atmosphere. We are excited to bring our expertise to this partnership and help find solutions for the unique geological conditions found at the Tamarack site.”
Talon Metals CEO Henri van Rooyen said “Rio Tinto has assembled a uniquely qualified team of scientists and innovators to explore new approaches to harness carbon mineralisation as a way to safely and permanently store carbon sourced from hard-to-abate industries and carbon removed from the atmosphere.
“Talon is pleased to host this project here in Aitkin County Minnesota, which will be at the forefront of new approaches to climate science.”
Analyses by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change show that billions tons of CO2 must be removed from the atmosphere in order to keep global warming to less than 2°C, and that this will not only require deep reductions in emissions but also carbon dioxide removal technologies. While Rio Tinto is prioritising emissions reductions at mines and smelters, it is also exploring the potential role of carbon capture and mineralisation to safely and permenantly store carbon in solid form.
Notes to editors
Tamarack is a nickel, copper and cobalt project located in central Minnesota that is currently progressing towards feasibility studies. The project is managed by Rio Tinto’s joint venture partner Talon Metals, which holds a 51 per cent share and has a right to earn-in to acquire up to 60 per cent.
Until now, large scale carbon mineralisation projects have focussed on areas with certain types of rock formations known as basaltic lava geology, such as Carbfix’s sites in Iceland. In contrast, the Tamarack Nickel Project includes a large bowl of what is known as porous ultramafic rock. While this bowl sits outside the resource of nickel and other battery minerals, it has the potential to safely store hundreds of millions of tons of carbon in solid form through natural reactions.
The project will include laboratory studies and field work to confirm the carbon storage potential of the site, understand the area’s hydrology and assess different carbon mineralisation technologies, developing a roadmap by 2025 to guide decisions on implementation.
The Tamarack site is also planned to host the first deployment of climate technology start-up Carbon Capture’s innovative Direct Air Capture technology, which captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and offers a potential supply source of carbon for mineralisation. Rio Tinto has invested $4 million in Carbon Capture to support the development of its technology and feasability studies for the deployment at Tamarack are now underway.
Rio Tinto is also partnering with Carbfix to help deliver the world’s first carbon mineral storage hub in Iceland and implement carbon capture and mineral storage at the ISAL aluminium smelter.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220214005477/en/
Please direct all enquiries to media.enquiries@riotinto.com
Media Relations, UK
Illtud Harri M +44 7920 503 600
David Outhwaite M +44 7787 597 493
Media Relations, Australia
Jonathan Rose M +61 447 028 913
Matt Chambers M +61 433 525 739
Jesse Riseborough M +61 436 653 412
Media Relations, Americas
Matthew Klar T +1 514 608 4429
Investor Relations, UK
Menno Sanderse M: +44 7825 195 178
David Ovington M +44 7920 010 978
Clare Peever M +44 7788 967 877
Investor Relations, Australia
Natalie Worley M +61 409 210 462
Amar Jambaa M +61 472 865 948
Rio Tinto plc
6 St James’s Square London SW1Y 4AD United Kingdom
T +44 20 7781 2000 Registered in England No. 719885
Rio Tinto Limited
Level 7, 360 Collins Street Melbourne 3000 Australia
T +61 3 9283 3333 Registered in Australia ABN 96 004 458 404
Category: General
Source: Rio Tinto
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.
These Cookies are used to provide a better user experience on the site, such as by measuring interactions with particular content or remembering your settings such as language or video playback preferences.
These Cookies allow us to analyse site usage in order to evaluate and improve its performance. They help us know how often you come to our site and when, how long you stay and any performance issues you experience whilst you are on our site.
These Cookies are used by advertising companies to inform and serve personalised ads to your devices based on your interests. These Cookies also facilitate sharing information with social networks or recording your interactions with particular ads.