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
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 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
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
Investor Seminar 2023
Sydney: 6 December 16:00 (AEDT) | 5:00 (GMT)
Get the latest news, stories and updates
New partnership a slapshot for sustainability
Rio Tinto becomes official aluminium partner of the Montreal Canadiens
Fuelling our tanks with renewable diesel
Diesel made from renewable raw materials is helping us reduce emissions
Rio Tinto commits $150 million to Centre for Future Materials led by Imperial College London
Discover more about life at Rio Tinto
Graduates & 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
We are a major contributor to the regional economy on the Western Cape, including significant investment in local infrastructure to support the Weipa Township. We work alongside Traditional Owners to create long-term mutual value, investing in education, employment, training, and cultural heritage management.
We are committed to the sustainable development and growth of local signatory communities. Between 2019 and 2021, we made a financial commitment of A$750,000 to create the Western Cape Community Development Fund. The Fund is a formalised partnership programme that addresses key social, environmental and economic challenges and opportunities, and creates long-term, sustainable benefits.
The Western Cape Community Development Fund focuses investment across five areas which have been identified through socioeconomic baseline data and community plans - education, environment, health and wellbeing, inclusion, and economic development.
We are currently reviewing the Community Development Fund and the investment areas to better support local communities in delivering sustainable, long-term outcomes.
The Fund's board will assess applications against the five priority areas (education, environment, health and wellbeing, inclusion and economic). To be eligible, your project must:
In addition to the Western Cape Community Development Fund, we run a localised community contribution programme focused on sponsorships and donations. This is a separate programme that supports local programmes that enrich the community and ensures the region remains a vibrant place to live and work.
The catchment area for Rio Tinto's community contributions programme includes Weipa, Napranum, Aurukun, Mapoon and NPA. Please note, local programmes can also apply for non-financial, in-kind support through the community contributions programme. This can include capacity building, use of company-owned assets and employee volunteering.
In addition to our community contribution, we are a major contributor to the regional economy through our investment in local infrastructure in Weipa. The Weipa Town Authority manages the township with the support of local Traditional Owners under the Weipa Township Agreement. The Authority is made up of elected community representatives, a Traditional Owner representative and an appointed Rio Tinto Aluminium Weipa representative. Our operation's biggest contribution to the Western Cape community is through employee wages, taxes and royalties.
As the region’s largest employer, providing career opportunities for Indigenous people is a priority for us; in fact, 25% of our workforce is made up of Indigenous Australians. We are committed to improving quality employment outcomes for Indigenous employees, and also to developing existing and potential local Indigenous leaders across our Weipa operations.
Established in 2005, our partnership with the local school, the Western Cape College, continues to thrive. This award-winning partnership supports our Indigenous employment focus and boosts employability for local students through school-to-work pathways.
To support employment in the region beyond the mining industry, Rio Tinto is a signatory to the Western Cape Regional Partnership Agreement (RPA), which brings together representatives from industry, three levels of government and Indigenous stakeholders of the Western Cape.
Our ethos at our Weipa operations is to buy local and employ local. Our Amrun Project has set a benchmark in supporting local and regional suppliers; we have made more than A$2.1 billion in purchases from more than 1,200 Australian suppliers - more than 800 from the state of Queensland. Western Cape York businesses alone have supplied more than A$240 million worth of goods and services.
We have long been advocates for Indigenous rights in Australia, and today are proud supporters of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. We have agreements in place across all our operations to ensure local Indigenous people have a say in how the benefits of mining are used in their community.
We work with Traditional Owners to make sure culture is shared and respected, and important heritage sites are looked after properly. Some of the ways we do this are by providing cultural awareness training for our employees and contractors, as well as holding cultural camps on country with Traditional Owners to record important sites and help Elders pass on knowledge to younger generations. And at the Amrun village, we co-designed an area named "Chivarri" with Traditional Owners which includes a historical timeline and a fire pit to share stories around in the evenings. Across the mine, infrastructure – like the Chith export facility – and even blocks of land in the mine plan are named in traditional language.
Rio Tinto was the first mining company to embrace Indigenous land rights in Australia in 1995. Agreements recognise Native Title rights and the interests of Traditional Owner groups and also provide monetary and non-monetary inter-generational benefits. They also allow us to secure our ongoing operations and the expansion of our business.
Our mining leases on Western Cape York are spread over almost 4,000 km2, including traditional Indigenous land.
Our Weipa operations have three Aboriginal Agreements with 12 Traditional Owner groups. These agreements - the Western Cape Communities Co-existence Agreement (WCCCA), the Ely Bauxite Mining Project Agreement (EBMPA) and the Weipa Township Agreement - ensure local Indigenous people have a say in how the benefits of mining are used to support current and future generations. And that is not just financial benefits, but education, training, cultural heritage protection and employment too.
We aim to thoughtfully steward the land on which we operate.
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.
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