about riotinto brochure

8/20/2019 About RioTinto Brochure

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May 2013Capability brochure

About Rio Tinto

A global leader in mining,metals and minerals


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Cover image

The contribution of

mining to modern

infrastructure andurbanisation.

Above

In the heart of the Gobi

desert, Oyu Tolgoi is

set to be one of the

world’s top-five copper

producers once fully

developed.

Rio Tinto is a world leader in finding, mining and processingthe Earth’s mineral resources. We have the people, capabilitiesand resources to supply a world hungry for metals and minerals.

From our diverse portfolio we supply the metals and

minerals that help the world to grow. Our products go

into the infrastructure of our towns and cities, into cars

and mobile phones, into healthcare and renewableenergy solutions – and a myriad of other applications

that help fulfil vital consumer needs and improve

living standards.

We operate, and eventually close, our operations safely,

responsibly and sustainably. The diversity of our people –

about 71,000 in more than 40 countries – enriches the

blend of skills, experience and personalities that makes

us successful. By continually engaging with all our

stakeholders – including communities, governments,

employees and investors – we build relationships and

turn opportunity into advantage, solving business and

technical challenges, and contributing to society’s

transition to sustainable development.

Rio Tinto’s interests are diverse both in geography

and product. Our businesses include open pit and

underground mines, mills, refineries, smelters and

power stations – including a significant hydropowerportfolio as well as a number of research and service

facilities. Our major products are aluminium, copper,

diamonds, thermal and metallurgical coal, iron ore,

uranium, gold and industrial minerals (borates, titanium

dioxide and salt). We also own and operate infrastructure

that takes our products to our customers, including

railways, ports and ships.

We work in some of the world’s most difficult terrains

and climates. Our activities span the world: we are

strongly represented in Australia and North America

and also have significant businesses in Asia, Europe,

Africa and South America.

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Our global presence, and our expertise in technology

and marketing, enables us to bring our customers the

right product, at the right quality, at the right time.

We act ethically and responsibly because it’s good for

business and it reflects the convictions of our employees.

Doing the right thing helps build a good reputation.

Having a good name ensures better access to the mineral,

financial and human resources we need to succeed. It also

creates better returns for our shareholders and gives our

employees more rewarding jobs.

The way we work , our global code of business conduct,

outlines our approach. It contains principles and

standards of conduct that reaffirm our commitment to

corporate responsibility and are inspired by our four corevalues: accountability, respect, teamwork and integrity.

We work in some of the world’s mostdifficult terrains and climates. We arestrongly represented in Australia andNorth America and also have significant businesses in Asia, Europe, Africa andSouth America.

We act ethically and responsibly because it’s good for businessand it reflects the convictionsof our employees.

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History and origins

Rio Tinto’s predecessor companies – The Rio Tinto

Company and The Consolidated Zinc Corporation – were

formed in 1873 and 1905 respectively. The Rio Tinto

Company was formed in London to mine copper at

Rio Tinto in southern Spain. This first mine was based

on ancient workings that once supplied copper to the

Roman Empire. The name Rio Tinto comes from the

“coloured river” that flowed near this copper mine.

The Consolidated Zinc Corporation was incorporated totreat zinc-bearing mine waste at Broken Hill, Australia.

The two companies merged in 1962 to form The RTZ

(Rio Tinto Zinc) Corporation. CRA (Conzinc Riotinto of

Australia) Limited was formed at the same time by the

merger of the companies’ Australian interests. RTZ

and CRA were unified through a dual listed companies

structure in 1995. In 1997, RTZ became Rio Tinto plc

and CRA became Rio Tinto Limited, together known

as the Rio Tinto Group.

The Group has grown partly through the acquisition

of other businesses and most notably through the

acquisition of Alcan Inc. in 2007.

Rio Tinto has developed a global approach to business

that is drawn from the experience and commitment of

our component companies and individuals. We share

common values, policies, standards and principles, and

have benefited increasingly from sharing best practice

across the whole Group.

We have been in this business for 140 years and we

have a great heritage to be proud of.

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Strategy

Rio Tinto’s objective is to maximise total shareholder

return by sustainably finding, developing, mining and

processing natural resources. Our strategy is to invest in

and operate large, long-term, expandable, low-cost mines

and businesses, driven by the quality of each opportunity

in the most attractive industry sectors. It is a strategy

that has served us well over many years, and we have

full confidence that it will continue to do so in the future.

We will deliver value for shareholders by consistentlyexecuting our strategy in every market, in all of our

businesses. We have a focus on reducing costs, delivering

our approved growth projects, reshaping our portfolio and

building a more accountable business.

We will apply a disciplined and rigorous investment

process to ensure that capital is invested only in assets

that, after prudent assessment, offer attractive returns,

well above our cost of capital. Our approach balances

investment to grow the value of the business and

returns to shareholders, while aiming to maintain a

strong balance sheet and retain our single A credit rating.

Structure and management

The Rio Tinto Group combines Rio Tinto plc, which

is listed on the London and New York Stock Exchange

and headquartered in London, and Rio Tinto Limited,

which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

The Group consists of wholly and partly owned

subsidiaries, jointly controlled assets, jointly controlled

entities and associated companies.

Rio Tinto comprises five principal product groups –Aluminium, Copper, Diamonds & Minerals, Energy

and Iron Ore – supported by our Technology

& Innovation and Exploration groups.

Below

Cape Lambert port,

part of our world-class

iron ore operations in

the Pilbara, Western

Australia. Our expansion

plans will increase the

port’s annual capacity

by more than 100

million tonnes by 2015.

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Our capabilities

Al Cu C Fe TiO2

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Rio Tinto’s aluminium product group,Rio Tinto Alcan, is a global leader in thealuminium industry. Our fully-integratedfacilities include high-quality bauxite

mines, large-scale alumina refineries,and some of the world’s lowest-cost,most technologically-advanced primaryaluminium smelters.

Aluminium

Aluminium is a unique and versatile metal. Light,

strong, flexible, non-corrosive and infinitely recyclable,

aluminium is used in a broad range of applications for

transportation, packaging, electrical materials, medicine,

construction and other sectors.

Rio Tinto’s aluminium product group, Rio Tinto Alcan,

is a global leader in the aluminium industry. Our fully-

integrated facilities include high-quality bauxite mines,

large-scale alumina refineries, and some of the world’slowest-cost, most technologically-advanced primary

aluminium smelters. Rio Tinto Alcan’s APTM smelting

technology is the industry benchmark, and the group

benefits from access to the largest and best-quality

bauxite reserves in the industry.

Building on more than a century of experience and

expertise, the group is renowned for its leadership

in research and technology as well as its unrivalled

renewable energy assets through its hydropower portfolio.

Rio Tinto Alcan owns 11 power stations and manages

operations on five continents, primarily in Canada,

Australia, France and the UK. The group’s operations are

divided into two operating units: Bauxite & Alumina and

Primary Metal. Rio Tinto Alcan also provides technology

sales and services, engineering services, smelting

equipment sales and smelting consumables productionfor the global aluminium industry.

Left and below

From our diverse

portfolio we supply

the metals and minerals

that help the world

to grow.

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Copper

Copper’s malleability, strength and conductivity make it

useful in a range of building and electrical applications,

and it is an element found in nearly every home and

vehicle. From the electricity that lights our homes, to the

infrastructure that builds our cities, to the technology

that connects our world, copper is essential to making

modern life work.

Rio Tinto’s Copper group discovers, extracts and

processes copper in ways that continually deliversuperior long-term value to our stakeholders.

Our key operating assets are world-class and our

project pipeline includes a suite of longer-term

opportunities that will help meet the world’s increasing

demand for copper. In addition to our core product, we

generate additional revenue from valuable by-products:

gold, silver and molybdenum.

Our Copper group has always looked ahead to advance

our industry. From our very beginnings to today, we

invest extensively in leading-edge technologies and

processes, to ensure our projects, both in operation andin development, deliver a sustainable and exciting future.

Diamonds & Minerals

Rio Tinto’s Diamonds & Minerals portfolio consists of

mines and development projects across four sectors

and spanning five continents. These businesses serve

a range of industries but have a shared track record of

creating and defining new and profitable markets for

their products.

Rio Tinto is one of the world’s largest diamond producers

and the world’s largest producer of natural coloured

diamonds. Our diamond interests comprise the Diavik

mine in Canada, the Argyle mine in Australia, the Murowamine in Zimbabwe and an advanced diamond project in

Madhya Pradesh, India.

We have diamond sales and marketing headquarters

in London and an office in the world’s diamond centre

of Antwerp, Belgium. A strict chain of custody process

ensures that all products are segregated according to

mine source.

Rio Tinto’s industrial minerals businesses comprise

Rio Tinto Minerals, a world leader in borates with

operations in the US and Asia, and a development

project in Europe; and Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium, an

industry leader in high-grade titanium dioxide feedstocks

which operates in Canada, South Africa and Madagascar.

Dampier Salt is one of the world’s largest producers of

seaborne salt.

Market differentiation in the industrial minerals sector

depends on technical and marketing expertise and thegroup maintains research and development facilities in

Europe and North America to develop new products and

support customers.

The Diamonds & Minerals group also includes the

Simandou iron ore project in Guinea.

Energy

Rio Tinto’s Energy group produces thermal coal, used

to generate electricity, coking coal for making steel, and

uranium, used exclusively for the generation of nuclear

electricity.

Rio Tinto is a leading seaborne supplier of thermal and

coking coal to Asian customers. Its coal interests are

located in Australia and Africa and supply the seaborne

traded and Australian domestic markets.

Rio Tinto Coal Australia manages the group’s interests

in seven coal mines in Queensland and New South

Wales. Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique’s first operation,

the Benga Mine, began exports in 2012.

Rio Tinto is also a major global uranium producer, and

supplies uranium oxide from its majority owned mines in

Australia and Namibia to electric power utilities globally.

A number of opportunities for brownfield expansions

exist at the Coal & Allied operations in the Hunter Valley

and Hail Creek Mine in Queensland, and are under

consideration at the Ranger and Rössing uranium mines.

Titanium dioxide reflects and

scatters light like thousands

of tiny mirrors, and when

used as a pigment in paint,

gives brilliance and opacity.

Our products go into the infrastructure

of our towns and cities, into cars andmobile phones, into healthcare andrenewable energy solutions – and amyriad of other applications.

Energy is used to power

appliances that are

part of everyday life.

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Iron Ore

Iron is the most useful metal in the world, used in

a variety of forms and a multitude of applications in

everyday life.

We find and extract iron ore, and ship it to our customers

who extract iron metal from the ore. We are one of the

world’s largest iron ore producers and the only one with

a truly global production and growth platform, spanning

four continents.

Our Iron Ore group comprises wholly-owned subsidiaries

and joint venture initiatives. We own and manage mining

and processing operations in Western Australia (Pilbara)

and Canada (Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador).

Our integrated iron ore operations – including mines, rail,

ports and related infrastructure – are designed to respond

rapidly to changes in demand and are geographically well

positioned to take advantage of demand for iron ore in

both developed and developing regions.

Our operations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia

are expanding by 50 per cent in what is now Australia’s

largest mining project, and we are increasing capacity

at our Iron Ore Company of Canada operations.

Through global projects, expansions and innovations,

we are further extending our leading role in the global

iron ore sector.

The Iron Ore group’s development pipeline also includes

the Odisha project in India. In addition, the group

operates Rio Tinto Marine, the ocean freight business

that services the entire Rio Tinto Group.

Below

Iron ore is the key

ingredient in the

production of steel, one

of the most fundamental

and durable products for

modern-day living.

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Technology & Innovation

Technology is an increasingly important success factor

in the metal and mineral industry. The Technology &

Innovation (T&I) group provides world-class technology

services to Rio Tinto’s product groups and businesses.

It also advises Rio Tinto’s executive management.

T&I is made up of a number of functions that identify,

share and implement leading practice across Rio Tinto.

The functions each have responsibility for different

areas of mine technology, which include surface and

underground mining, asset management, strategicproduction planning, processing, project development

and implementation, and technical risk evaluation of

investment opportunities.

The various elements of T&I collaborate in capturing

knowledge and spreading it across Rio Tinto. T&I

identifies and promotes leading practice in operational

technology. It also pursues step change innovations

that will provide Rio Tinto with further competitive

advantages as it develops the orebodies of the future.

Right

Our Mine of the

FutureTM programme is

developing advanced

ways of finding,

extracting and

processing minerals

from deep within the

Earth. This includes

the development of

autonomous haul trucks

currently in operation

at two autonomous pits,

with 150 expected to be

deployed by 2015.

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Exploration

Exploration involves identifying, prioritising and testing

geological targets. We are a product of our exploration

expertise and see this activity as a core part of our

business. The goal of our Exploration group is to create

value for Rio Tinto through the discovery or acquisition

of Tier 1 resources – the largest, lowest-cost resources

that are profitable at all parts of the commodity cycle.

Rio Tinto Exploration is organised into four regional

teams: Americas, Australasia, Africa-Europe and Eurasia.

In addition, the Project Generation Group provides

specialist commodity, data and information, technical

and orebody knowledge assistance to the regional teams.

Below

The extensive drilling

exploration platforms

and road network which

have been built on the

slopes of Pic de Fon.

Simandou, Guinea

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Adopting a responsible approach to mineral development

ensures we gain and maintain our licence to operate. It

means we provide confidence to our stakeholders, andimprove our access to the mineral resources, people and

capital we need. Our approach to sustainable development

therefore enables us to keep investing in line with our

Group strategy as well as to plan, implement and deliver

sustainable contributions to social wellbeing, environmental

stewardship and economic prosperity, within our strong

governance systems.

Sustainable development

Safety is fundamental to the way we do business. Our

safety vision is that together we will create an injury and

illness-free workplace where everyone goes home safeand healthy each day of their working life. We believe

that strong safety leadership and a deep safety culture

are critical if we are to achieve our goals.

We are committed to working with others to explore

how together we might help solve some of the global

challenges we face – including biodiversity loss;

climate change and its impact on water and energy;

poverty and corruption. By building relationships with

our stakeholders, and by applying risk analysis and

management effectively throughout our business, we

can create opportunities out of external challenges

and extend our licence to operate.

Our commitment to sustainable development is integrated into everything we do.Our operations give us the opportunity to bring enduring benefits to the communities,regions and countries where we work, and our metals and minerals are transformedinto end products that contribute to higher living standards.

Above

Mafindou School,

built by Rio Tinto as part of the community

programme of the

Simandou project –

Guinea, West Africa.

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The minerals and metals produced at our operations

contribute to society’s needs, creating wealth to support

community infrastructure, healthcare and education

programmes, and delivering financial returns for

our shareholders.

But we also recognise that, if not managed appropriately,

some aspects of our activities have the ability to detract

from sustainable development, such as options for the

future use of water and land; amenity impacts on local

communities; and greenhouse gas emissions from ouroperations and the use of our products.

We have a structured framework that enables us to

deliver industry-leading performance and effectively

manage risks.

This approach begins with The way we work – our global

code of business conduct – supported by our corporate

policies, strategies and standards that lay down the

minimum acceptable requirements for behaviour or

operating conditions. It is designed to ensure that we

all reflect in our daily work the high standards we share.

We are committed to working with othersto explore how together we might helpsolve some of the global challenges weface – including biodiversity loss; climatechange and its impact on water andenergy; poverty and corruption.

Below

Employee checking

foliage regeneration

in Bengalla, Australia.

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Operations map†Our activities span the world. We are strongly

represented in Australia and North America,

regions which account for around 80 per cent

of our assets. We also have significant businesses

in Asia, Europe, Africa and South America.

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AluminiumBauxite, alumina and aluminium

Mines and mining projects

Smelters, refineries and processing

plants remote from mine

Pacific Aluminium

Bauxite, alumina and aluminium




Other Aluminium

Bauxite, alumina and aluminium




CopperCopper, gold, silver, molybdenum

and nickel




Diamonds & Minerals

Diamonds, borates, salt, titanium

dioxide feedstock, high-purity iron,

metal powders, iron ore, zircon, rutile

and lithium

Mines and mining projects Smelters, refineries and processing


Iron OreIron ore




Energy

Thermal coal, coking coal and uranium




†Locations on the map are indicative.14


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Rio Tinto Limited

120 Collins Street

Melbourne, Victoria 3000

Australia

T +61 (0)3 9283 3333

Rio Tinto plc

2 Eastbourne Terrace

London W2 6LG

United Kingdom

T +44 (0)20 7781 2000

riotinto.com

Capability brochures

About Rio Tinto

Aluminium

Copper

Diamonds

Energy

Exploration

Industrial mineralsIron Ore

Technology & Innovation

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