Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs
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The drive for innovation and continuous improvement is at the heart of our purpose
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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
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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
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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
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We have rehabilitation programmes in place, which are reviewed every year, and dedicated teams that look after the land throughout the life of the operation. Our engineers, environmental scientists and cultural heritage experts work with academic institutions, civil society organisations, Indigenous peoples and other members of the community to make sure rehabilitation is done in ways that ensure a successful, self-sustaining outcome in line with the expectations of regulators and host communities.
When we begin exploration, long before our operations start, we work with local communities, including Indigenous peoples, to understand the physical, spiritual and cultural connection they have with the land. We conduct cultural heritage and environmental studies to understand the area and look for ways to avoid or reduce any impacts. We strive to obtain the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) of Indigenous peoples, as applicable in local jurisdictions, and also engage other affected communities. We were the first mining company in Australia to welcome native title to land and commit to forming agreements with Indigenous landowners. But we know we need to do better.
Our Gove Operations, in North East Arnhem land are located on Indigenous land. The Yolngu have lived in the region for more than 65,000 years and practise one of the longest living traditional cultures in the world. Our lease areas contain a wide range of cultural heritage features and values including significant sacred sites, such as the Banyan Tree (Dhanburama) and Dimbuka Rock (Dhimbukawuy). These sites have been preserved in place, co-existing safely alongside our operations.
Over the past decade, we have worked closely with the Yolngu People to help protect these and other sites at our Gove operations. This includes regular consultation and specific management plans detailing each site’s cultural values, how access is controlled, and the monitoring activities.
As Gove enters its last decade of operation, we continue to work closely with the Yolngu People to make sure we rehabilitate the land around these sacred sites in the right way and help preserve them for future generations.
In 2022, we rehabilitated 16 square kilometres of land, mostly at our bauxite mines in Australia, mineral sands mines in South Africa and Madagascar, and at our iron ore mines and exploration areas in the Pilbara, Western Australia. In the southern Gobi Desert in Mongolia, following successful rehabilitation of the Oyu Tolgoi to Khanbogd Soum old dirt road, we relinquished around 50 hectares of land, returning the land back to its original use of grazing by the local herders. Through the development of our environmental risk control libraries, we are also strengthening how we plan for and implement progressive rehabilitation. In 2022, our land footprint – total disturbed area – was 3,810 square kilometres, an increase of 75 square kilometres compared to 2021. This includes all disturbances to our operating assets and activities, such as exploration activities, smelters, mines and supporting infrastructure. Our rehabilitation teams partner with research centres and universities to refine rehabilitation approaches and improve outcomes. In 2022, as a forum member of the Australian-led Cooperative Research Centre for Transformations in Mining Economies (CRC TiME), we contributed to the coordinated investment into innovative research that addresses the complex challenges underpinning mine closure and relinquishment. We also completed several trials using satellite derived data to determine if we could measure rehabilitation performance at a global scale, while at the same time complementing the monitoring data collected locally. In addition, 16 of our operations completed rehabilitation trials to improve seed germination, erosion and topsoil quality.
We share our learnings with our operations globally, and with our industry partners. For example, we were founding members of the Proteus Partnership, a unique collaboration between the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and extractive industries. In 2020 we renewed this partnership to extend it for a further five years.
The partnership is focused on improving internationally accepted information and data on protected areas and biodiversity, to support decision-making on conservation and help partners like us ensure that impacts are mitigated effectively. This information includes private sector contributions and is available through the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT).
We also use these tools to understand more about protected areas within or adjacent to potential exploration projects, so we can understand risk and make decisions on how to proceed to ensure our future footprint does not negatively impact areas of biodiversity importance.
Archaeologists and scientists play an essential role in documenting and understanding the history within the areas that we plan to operate. Still, local people with the historical and cultural connections to the land know it best. Working side-by-side with Native American community members helps ensure we capture these perspectives as part of survey work that informs and improves our project.
The Resolution Copper project is a proposed underground copper mine in Arizona, in the western United States. The project area is located roughly 60 miles east of Phoenix, near the town of Superior. It has a long history of copper mining dating back to the 1870s.
In 2018, we partnered with the US Forest Service (USFS) to establish a Tribal Monitor programme to work alongside archaeologists and scientists to identify and record tribal perspectives on all aspects of the lands. The first of its kind with the USFS, the programme invites members of each tribe with historical ties to the planned areas of operation to train and work as part of specialised teams to identify and record important Native American sites and artefacts. Tribal Monitors provide a unique perspective and traditional ecological knowledge alongside archaeological insights.
The programme also provides another way for tribes to participate in the project's development, along with jobs, education and natural resource stewardship opportunities for tribal members. Today, the programme employs around 30 members from seven Native American tribes to help conduct the ongoing environmental and cultural heritage activities associated with the project.
In June 2020, the State Historic Preservation Office and Arizona Preservation Foundation named the programme as an honouree for the Governor's Archaeology Advisory Commission Awards in Public Archaeology. The programme was recognised for its significant contribution to the protection, preservation, and education of Arizona's non-renewable archaeological resources.
In recognition of the value of the Tribal Monitor work, the Tribes consulting on Resolution Copper have selected its continuation for inclusion in long term mitigations and measures for the project. We hope the Tribal Monitor programme continues to grow and sets a new standard for collaboration between companies, tribes, and government agencies.
Our Argyle mine ceased production in November 2020, after generating more than 865 million carats of rough diamonds in 37 years. As we move into closing and rehabilitating the mine, we continue to work closely with the Miriuwung and Gidja People, the Traditional Owners, to respectfully return the land.
We are working with 14 Indigenous seed pickers, including Traditional Owners, and local enterprise Gelganyem to collect native seeds to restore the land in the mining lease. Each day the group collect up to ten kilograms of seed from up to 19 different species. The seeds are then processed, cleaned and stored for sale at the Gelganyem processing facility in Kununurra, around 200km away from the Argyle mine site.
Although still in its early days, Gelganyem plans to grow the business to help meet the increasing demand in Australia for restoration seeds and provide more opportunities for Indigenous employment and training, as well as for future generations to connect to Country.
For nearly 120 years, Kennecott’s Bingham Canyon Mine has been operating in Utah, US, on the edge of the state’s largest city – Salt Lake City. Many of the valley’s one million residents have a view of the operation’s waste rock dumps.
The current mine plan takes the existing operation to 2038, with growth studies currently underway that could extend the life of the mine further. However, rather than wait for closure, Kennecott’s reclamation programme has been successfully ongoing over many years, including beginning to revegetate and restore the waste rock dumps.
In 2020, we signed a three-year partnership with Brigham Young University’s Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, focused primarily on innovative waste rock dump reclamation research. The work is being conducted by graduate and undergraduate students and supervised by Brigham Young University professors. The partnership will:
This partnership offers a unique opportunity to integrate current environmental work with an eye to the future and to advance preparation for closure. It is a key part of our commitment to our neighbouring communities and stakeholders to explore innovative science and research to address the issue of reclamation of the waste dumps and land impacted by mining activity.
We know our operations can have far-reaching impacts on society
Everywhere we work, we respect and support all internationally recognised human rights
Through safe and responsible asset closure, we are working to deliver shared benefits for host communities, employees and investors; positive ESG outcomes; and innovative solutions that minimise long-term liabilities
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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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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.
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