Archive | Rio Tinto

Column: Rio Tinto warning may rupture mining industry into green and dirty – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.K. – April 16, 2019)

April 16, 2019 in Climate Change, Carbon Taxes and ENGOs, Coal, International Media Resource Articles, Rio Tinto

https://uk.reuters.com/

The mining industry is starting to come under more intense pressure
from investors who are demanding sustainable and ethical mining.

LAUNCESTON, Australia (Reuters) – It’s not quite yet pistols at dawn but Rio Tinto’s polite warning to mining lobby groups that they have to acknowledge the threat of climate change is likely a sign that the industry will inevitably fracture into two camps.

These factions could be described as the “green” miners, who produce the minerals essential for the transition from the age of oil to the age of electricity, and the “dirty” miners who remain trapped in coal and other minerals deemed unnecessary for a carbon constrained future.

Rio Tinto’s carefully worded statement on industry associations, released last week, said that it would only work with groups aligned with its own climate principles. Continue Reading →

Rio Tinto to join World Bank’s green mining program (Reuters U.S. – April 9, 2019)

April 9, 2019 in Green Mining, International Media Resource Articles, Rio Tinto

https://www.reuters.com/

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Rio Tinto said on Tuesday it will join a World Bank initiative intended to help developing countries sustainably mine lithium, cobalt and other minerals critical to the global electrification trend.

Rio’s participation in the program, known as Climate-Smart Mining and set to launch in May, comes as miners face increasing pressure from investors and non-governmental organizations to make supply chains more sustainable while reducing climate impact.

The program “will innovate and deploy financing specifically designed to manage the clean energy transition – responsibly, pragmatically and sustainably,” Arnaud Soirat, Rio’s head of copper and diamonds, said in a Tuesday speech at CRU’s World Copper Conference in Santiago. Continue Reading →

Mongolia lawmakers seek to rewrite Oyu Tolgoi deal – by Munkhchimeg Davaasharav (Reuters U.S. – April 4, 2019)

April 5, 2019 in Asia Mining, Canada Mining, Copper, International Media Resource Articles, Rio Tinto

https://www.reuters.com/

ULAANBAATAR, April 5 (Reuters) – A group of Mongolian legislators has recommended one of the agreements underpinning Rio Tinto’s Oyu Tolgoi copper mine should be scrapped and another changed, adding to the giant project’s political problems.

The Gobi desert copper deposit promises to become one of Rio Tinto’s most lucrative properties, but it has been subject to repeated challenges from politicians who argue the spoils of the country’s mining boom are not being evenly shared.

It has also been at the centre of an anti-corruption investigation that has seen the arrest of two former prime ministers and a former finance minister. Continue Reading →

COLUMN-Iron ore prices shift structurally higher on Vale woes – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – April 2, 2019)

April 3, 2019 in BHP Billiton, International Media Resource Articles, Iron Ore, Latin America Mining, Mining Environmental Accidents, Pollution, Tailing Dams and Abandoned Mines, Rio Tinto, Vale

https://www.reuters.com/

HONG KONG, April 2 (Reuters) – Iron ore prices in China reached a record high on Tuesday as market participants wrestled two dilemmas, namely the likely temporary weather-related disruptions from Australia and the rather more serious safety outages in Brazil.

A major tropical cyclone hitting the main producing and shipping areas in the world’s largest iron ore miner was always likely to boost prices, and indeed, markets largely responded as expected.

Iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 4.2 percent on Tuesday to reach 665.5 yuan ($99) a tonne, the most since the contract starting trading in 2013. Continue Reading →

Iron Ore Thunders Higher as Mine Dams Closed, Exports Collapse – by Krystal Chia (Bloomberg News – April 3, 2019)

April 3, 2019 in BHP Billiton, International Media Resource Articles, Iron Ore, Rio Tinto, Vale

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Iron ore’s supply-driven rally picked up pace on Wednesday, with futures topping $90 a ton, amid increasing concern the crisis at Brazil’s Vale SA will be drawn out as regulators ordered dozens of dams to be shut.

Futures for benchmark material rallied as much as 4.1 percent in Singapore, while spot ore climbed to a two-year high and the contract for high-grade ore extended gains above $100 a ton. Barclays Plc raised price forecasts on expectations for a global deficit.

The seaborne market has been roiled this year after top producer Vale suffered a dam breach in January, spurring mine suspensions and concerns there’ll be a shortage. Continue Reading →

Australian miners see some impact from two cyclones, clean up begins – by Melanie Burton (Reuters U.S. – March 25, 2019)

March 25, 2019 in Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, BHP Billiton, International Media Resource Articles, Iron Ore, Rio Tinto

https://www.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Mining giants Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals said their Australian operations had suffered some impact after two cyclones hit the country over the weekend, with clean up starting on Monday in the wake of the storms.

Cyclone Veronica has been weakening after battering Australia’s northwest, while further east, Cyclone Trevor was downgraded to a low pressure system on Sunday.

Businesses affected included those in the iron ore export hubs of the Pilbara region, as well as Rio Tinto’s bauxite operations in Weipa to the east. Continue Reading →

Rio Tinto start-up team to shape future growth – by Luke Housego (Australian Financial Review – March 10, 2019)

March 11, 2019 in Aluminium/Bauxite, Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, International Media Resource Articles, Rio Tinto

https://www.afr.com/

Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques says a new internal start-up team that will work across the group’s operations will help shape how the resources giant looks in the decades to come.

“We’ve been around for 137 years – I have no doubt in my mind that the Rio you will experience in 10 or 20 years from now will be very different from the Rio today,” Mr Jacques said.

“Because I’m an old-timer from that perspective – what resonates with me I know will not resonate with my daughters or resonate with the next generation of people who run Rio Tinto.” Continue Reading →

Turquoise Hill flags potential further delays at Oyu Tolgoi – by Marleny Arnoldi (MiningWeekly.com – February 27, 2019)

February 27, 2019 in Asia Mining, Copper, International Media Resource Articles, Rio Tinto

http://www.miningweekly.com/

TSX- and NYSE-listed Turquoise Hill Resources has flagged potential further delays in the development schedule of the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine project, saying that the completion of ‘technically complex’ installations at Shaft 2 could take longer than previously thought.

The Rio Tinto-owned company, which holds the giant mine in a 66:34 partnership with the Mongolian government, last year said that sustainable production at the $5.3-billion underground mining project would only be achieved in the third quarter of 2021 rather than the previously guided start of 2021.

However, Turquoise Hill on Wednesday reported that it was increasingly likely that sustainable first production would be delayed beyond the third quarter of 2021. Continue Reading →

Mongolia, overseas investigators probe Oyu Tolgoi corruption claims as ex-minister re-arrested – by Munkhchimeg Davaasharav and Barbara Lewis (Reuters U.S. – January 29, 2019)

January 29, 2019 in Asia Mining, Copper, International Media Resource Articles, Rio Tinto

https://www.reuters.com/

ULAANBAATAR/LONDON (Reuters) – Mongolia is working with overseas investigators to look into claims of corruption at its giant Oyu Tolgoi copper mine, the country’s anti-graft body said on Tuesday, after the re-arrest of a former minister suspected of “abuse of power”.

Bayartsogt Sangajav was first arrested last April and released in June in a probe into 2009 negotiations over the development of the mine, then owned by Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines and now managed by Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto. Bayartsogt, a former finance minister, was among the signatories to the investment agreement, approved by Mongolia’s parliament.

Munkhtungalag Tumur, a spokeswoman with the country’s Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC), told Reuters it was now conducting a thorough financial investigation into the allegations that would be international in scope. She did not identify with which other countries the IAAC was collaborating. Continue Reading →

Rio Tinto, Mongolia sign power deal for Oyu Tolgoi copper mine – by Barbara Lewis and Munkhchimeg Davaasharav (Reuters U.S. – December 31, 2018)

January 7, 2019 in Asia Mining, Copper, International Media Resource Articles, Rio Tinto

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON/ULAANBAATAR (Reuters) – Rio Tinto and Mongolia have signed a deal for the supply of power to the miner’s giant copper mine extension at Oyu Tolgoi by mid-2023, with both sides saying the framework agreement marked a step forward after a protracted dispute.

The Oyu Tolgoi project is central to Rio Tinto’s push to diversify its portfolio away from iron ore, but it has faced a series of challenges as Mongolia’s fragile government wrangles over how to maximize benefits for the country.

First production at the $5.3 billion underground expansion located near the southern border with China is scheduled for early next decade, creating one of the world’s biggest copper suppliers. Continue Reading →

Rio Tinto approves $3.5b iron ore mine in the Pilbara – by Cole Latimer, Hamish Hastie & Nathan Hondros (Sydney Morning Herald – November 29, 2018)

November 29, 2018 in Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, International Media Resource Articles, Iron Ore, Rio Tinto

https://www.smh.com.au/

Mining giant Rio Tinto has approved a $US2.6 billion ($3.5 billion) investment in its futuristic Koodaideri iron ore mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

The mine will be one of Rio Tinto’s most heavily automated operations, featuring robotic trains and advanced analytics as well as 3D reconstructions of the operation to help train new miners in simulated conditions.

“Koodaideri is a game-changer for Rio Tinto. It will be the most technologically advanced mine we have ever built and sets a new benchmark for the industry in terms of the adoption of automation and the use of data to enhance safety productivity,” Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said. Continue Reading →

Rio Tinto sells African uranium mine to China – by Fumi Matsumoto (Nikkei Asian Review – November 27, 2018)

November 28, 2018 in Africa Mining, Asia Mining, International Media Resource Articles, Rio Tinto, Uranium and Nuclear Power Industry

https://asia.nikkei.com/

SYDNEY — Global mining behemoth Rio Tinto will sell its stake in a uranium mine in Namibia to a Chinese state-owned player for up to $106.5 million in the latest move to focus on such resources as iron ore and aluminum.

Rio Tinto said on Nov. 26 that it has agreed to sell a 68.62% interest in Rossing Uranium, the owner of the Rossing mine, to China National Uranium Corp., a unit of China National Nuclear Corp. The transaction is slated to complete in the first half of 2019, following approval from the Namibian government. The sale price will be linked to such factors as uranium spot prices.

Rio Tinto has held the stake since the 1960s, when development on the mine began. Output there accounts for 48% of the company’s total production of uranium, an element used as fuel for nuclear power generation. Continue Reading →

Rio Tinto leads copper charge into Western Australia’s Paterson region – by Melanie Burton (Reuters U.S. – November 26, 2018)

November 28, 2018 in Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, Copper, International Media Resource Articles, Rio Tinto

https://www.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – A hive of mine exploration activity is underway in a remote corner of Western Australia’s Great Sandy Desert, led by Rio Tinto Ltd, which has boosted its holdings 10-fold in the little explored Paterson province in the past year.

Rio’s interest in the area – flagged by its application for nearly 30 exploration licenses – has sparked a stampede into adjacent lots by other explorers, who see Rio’s aggressive activity as an indicator of a highly promising find.

Interest was further intensified by the global mining giant’s recent application to build an airstrip in Paterson – roughly halfway between Perth and Darwin, indicating it’s in for the long haul. Continue Reading →

Rio Tinto joins race for Teck’s copper project stake: sources – by Clara Denina (Reuters U.S. – November 14, 2018)

November 14, 2018 in Canada Mining, Copper, International Media Resource Articles, Latin America Mining, Rio Tinto

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Rio Tinto is among parties making a final offer for a minority stake in Teck Resources Ltd’s Quebrada Blanca copper mine expansion in northern Chile, a development worth $4.8 billion, two sources close to the matter said.

The world’s second largest mining company is eager to boost its copper assets, with the metal viewed in the industry as having one of strongest outlooks. Existing reserves are dwindling and increased electrification means demand is likely to be strong.

Canada’s Teck (TECKb.TO) (TECK.N) has said a development partner could contribute $2 billion for a 30 percent to 40 percent stake in the copper project, an investment deal it expects to close in the fourth quarter. Continue Reading →

We won’t wake up tomorrow as Microsoft, but how will we pioneer the mining industry into the 21st Century? – by Jean-Sébastien Jacques, CEO Rio Tinto Group (IMARC Conference Melbourne, Australia – October 30, 2018)

October 31, 2018 in Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, Rio Tinto

“But I hate to tell you, our industry is one of the least trusted on the
planet. And unfortunately, it is a mainstream idea. You only have to take
a look at how mining is portrayed in the Avatar movie. What the heck?
And it makes me sad – or, depending on the day, mad.”

“And you know what, we need to use 21st century channels to communicate.
Today, who you are on social media is who you are to stakeholders.
That’s how they know us. So the culture we project online is incredibly important.”

“It is essential to make mining an attractive industry for the employees
we have now and those that we need to attract to thrive going forward.
The war for some of our talent is going to be fought with the likes
of Google, Facebook and other industries.”

**Check against delivery**

It’s great to be here in Melbourne to open IMARC. This is an important event, at an important time.

As an entire industry, we need to transform to stay relevant in the 21st century. There is absolutely no doubt about it, we have a long, proud history. But as we gather here today, we have a great chance to focus on our future.

Let’s open our minds to how we re-invent our industry, but before I say more let me acknowledge that we meet today on the lands of the traditional owners, the Wurundjeri people. Our industry works with Indigenous groups from the Pilbara to the far corners of Mongolia, and I would like to thank all of our
partners and Traditional Owners for making what we do possible. Continue Reading →