Twitter

Rio Tinto

Jammed in a Cage With No Escape, Women Suffer Mining’s Dark Side – by Felix Njini, Thomas Biesheuvel and James Thornhill (Bloomberg News – February 5, 2022)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Noxolo Bobotyane, a veteran of more than a decade in South Africa’s gold fields, has seen first hand how women are sexually harassed as they start their shifts each day. Jammed into a metal cage with other mineworkers as they descend deep below the earth’s surface, there is literally no way out.

“The distance we are standing when we are inside the cage, we are so close to each other,” said Bobotyane, who is a union steward. “A man will touch you, when you are just standing in front of him and there is no way you can go anywhere, you are just standing in front of him. So you just wait for the cage to go down.”

Read more

Mining Chose This Toxic Culture. It’s Time for a Change – by David Fickling (Bloomberg News – February 4, 2022)

https://www.bloombergquint.com/

(Bloomberg Opinion) — Life in a mining camp in 2022 can often seem little different to conditions that prevailed a century ago. “[I have a] fear of violence. [There are] catcalls, advances made in camp when you are alone,” one Rio Tinto Group employee at a remote mine site told an internal commission into workplace culture which reported on Feb. 1.

“The men would sit on the stools and watch every single female that walked past. Some made comments. Some just stared … I ended up feeling so uncomfortable that I started making sure I had a buddy to walk to dinner and back with every single night — even when it wasn’t dark.”

Read more

Analysis-Rio Tinto has few options to save Serbia lithium mine, none good – by Clara Denina (Yahoo Finance – January 24, 2022)

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Rio Tinto has only bad options as it tries to salvage its $2.4 billion Serbian lithium project after the country’s leaders bowed to environmentalists and cancelled it last week.

The Anglo-Australian miner could sue the government, a step likely to fail and further antagonise Belgrade, or bet that pro-mining politicians emerge victorious in April parliamentary elections, a result that would embolden opponents.

Read more

RIO TINTO NEWS RELEASE: First female president appointed for Diavik Diamond Mine (December 16, 2021)

YELLOWKNIFE, Canada – Rio Tinto has appointed Angela Bigg president and chief operating officer of the Diavik Diamond Mine. Angela, previously general manager, Operations at Diavik, will be the first female to lead the mine and its 1,100 employees.

Angela joined the Diavik team in November of 2017 as vice president, Finance. She began her career with Rio Tinto in 2005 and has worked in Mozambique, South Africa and Australia, where she is from. She succeeds Richard Storrie, who has decided to leave the company to pursue other opportunities.

Read more

Rio Tinto now sole owner of Diavik Mine – by Shane Lasley (North of 60 Mining News – November 19, 2021)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

In a deal that bolsters certainty for the future of the Diavik Mine and Northwest Territories’ economy, Rio Tinto has acquired full ownership of this iconic diamond operation in Canada’s Arctic.

Rio Tinto’s 40% partner in Diavik, Dominion Diamond Mines, filed for insolvency protection under the Canadian Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act at the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020.

Read more

Rio Tinto sells last Argyle diamonds at record highs – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – October 28, 2021)

https://www.mining.com/

Rio Tinto’s (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) last pink, red, blue and violet diamonds from its iconic Argyle mine, in the remote east Kimberley region of Western Australia, smashed records on Thursday.

Mining ended at Argyle in November 2020, after 37 years of uninterrupted production, during which the mine became the source of about 90% of the world’s prized rose-to-magenta hued stones.

Read more

Rio Tinto says 60 Jadar mines wouldn’t fill looming lithium gap – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – October 21, 2021)

https://www.mining.com/

Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) joined the rising chorus of companies and analysts warning of an imminent and “significant” supply gap for lithium, as demand for the metal used in electric vehicles (EV) and green technologies continues to soar.

The world’s second-largest miner, which greenlighted in July the $2.4 billion Jadar lithium project in Serbia, believes the supply gap needs to be addressed “within the next ten years.”

Read more

Mining giant Rio Tinto’s control of Nechako River waterflow in B.C. challenged by local First Nations – by David Carrigg (Vancouver Sun – October 3, 2021)

https://vancouversun.com/

Mining giant Rio Tinto’s control over the Nechako River watershed in Northern B.C. is being challenged by three impacted First Nations and the Regional District of Bulkley Nechako.

According to a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the regional district and the Saik’uz, Stellat’en and Nadleh Whut’en First Nations, the parties want to see a new water flow regime for the river “that benefits all people within the watershed,” plus the establishment of a new river governance regime.

Read more

Rio Tinto Mismanagement Caused Mongolia Copper Mine’s Woes, Report Says – by Alistair MacDonald and Rhiannon Hoyle (Wall Street Journal – August 9, 2021)

https://www.wsj.com/

An expert group examining the cause of a $1.4 billion cost overrun at a giant copper mine run by Rio Tinto RIO PLC in Mongolia said in a report that it was caused by mismanagement and not the unfavorable rock conditions blamed by the world’s second-largest miner.

The 157-page report, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, was commissioned by the owners of the Oyu Tolgoi mine— Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. and a Mongolian state-owned company—to examine why construction of an underground pit was delayed and costs rose.

Separately, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and British regulators are looking into whether Rio Tinto, which has a majority stake in Turquoise Hill, should have detailed problems at the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine to investors sooner, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Read more

Ancient Sites, Sacred Snake Raise Risks for Australian Resources – by James Thornhill (Bloomberg News – July 29, 2021)

https://ampvideo.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Sacred sites, endangered sawfish and mythical rainbow serpents are the latest challenges confronting commodities powerhouse Australia as the nation’s top mining companies meet for their biggest annual conference.

Since the destruction last year by Rio Tinto Group of a 46,000-year-old Aboriginal rock shelter at Juukan Gorge, the industry has been scrambling to deal with a backlash over heritage protection and environmental issues.

A national enquiry into the incident and new laws being drafted by the Western Australia government could have an impact on some A$18 billion ($13 billion) in projects planned by mining giants operating in the Pilbara, the nation’s iron-ore heartland, as well as other resources projects.

Read more

Column: Rio’s lithium project will test mining’s ESG credentials – by Andy Home (Reuters – July 29, 2021)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Rio Tinto’s decision to invest $2.4 billion in developing the Jadar lithium mine in Serbia is big news. For the company with its heavy exposure to the iron ore sector, it’s a major strategic pivot to the fast evolving battery metals space.

For the lithium market, it marks the first entry of a big international mining company into what is a supply landscape dominated by specialty incumbents.

It’s hugely significant for Serbia, which is trying to attract investment to its mining sector, and it’s hugely important for the European Union, which has identified its Balkan neighbour as a key link in its mineral securities chain.

Read more

News Release: Rio Tinto commits funding for Jadar lithium project (July 27, 2021)

LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Rio Tinto has committed $2.4 billion to the Jadar lithium-borates project in Serbia, one of the world’s largest greenfield lithium projects. The project remains subject to receiving all relevant approvals, permits and licences and ongoing engagement with local communities, the Government of Serbia and civil society.

The Jadar project would scale up Rio Tinto’s exposure to battery materials, and demonstrate the company’s commitment to investing capital in a disciplined manner to further strengthen its portfolio for the global energy transition.

Jadar will produce battery-grade lithium carbonate, a critical mineral used in large scale batteries for electric vehicles and storing renewable energy, and position Rio Tinto as the largest source of lithium supply in Europe for at least the next 15 years. In addition, Jadar will produce borates, which are used in solar panels and wind turbines.

Read more

BHP pulls out in front as Rio Tinto flounders – by Rachael Knowles (National Indigenous Times – July 22, 2021)

https://nit.com.au/

BHP is leading the pack in iron ore mining as its competitor Rio Tinto continues to reel from fractured relationships with Traditional Owners in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

Rio Tinto has seen a steep decline in their iron ore shipments from the Pilbara, with the mining giant reportedly having shipped 76.3 million tonnes in the June quarter, 12 per cent less than the same period in 2020.

The miner also reported total production was down 5 per cent for the first half of this year. With Rio Tinto behind the eight ball, BHP reported their sellings at $US158.15 a tonne in the first half of the year, ahead of Rio Tinto’s $US154.90 a tonne.

Read more

Rio Tinto’s Mines Hit By Covid-19 Restrictions – by Rhiannon Hoyle (Wall Street Journal – July 16, 2021)

https://www.wsj.com/

SYDNEY— Rio Tinto PLC said pandemic-related restrictions are affecting its mining operations from Australia to Mongolia, slowing iron-ore shipments, raising production costs and delaying projects.

The disruptions come as governments around the world grapple with the impact of higher commodity prices as the global economy bounces back from Covid-19 and spending on infrastructure rises. Several countries in South America and Europe have recently raised interest rates to counter inflation concerns.

Rio Tinto is the world’s second-largest mining company by market value, behind BHP Group Ltd. , and is a major supplier of commodities to countries including China and the U.S.

Read more

WA must toughen laws after revelation Rio Tinto dumped priceless Indigenous artefacts, heritage expert says – by Lornea Allam (The Guardian – June 27, 2021)

https://www.theguardian.com/

One of Western Australia’s leading heritage experts says the government must toughen up its heritage laws in the wake of allegations that mining giant Rio Tinto allowed the dumping of priceless Aboriginal cultural materials and did not inform the traditional owners for 25 years.

Peter Veth, a senior archaeologist and heritage commentator who was involved in surveying of the artefacts, said new laws must ensure such a “traumatic” mistake cannot happen again.

“The state has to show leadership. It’s a really tough portfolio. It’s big money. And if they can’t get the compliance right in an area worth tens of billions of dollars – and of the Pilbara, which is one of the great heritage estates in the world – then we’re not a modern state. We’re locked in the 50s,” said Veth, a professor at the University of Western Australia.

Read more