Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs
Our business
We operate in 35 countries where our 60,000 employees are working to find better ways to provide the materials the world needs
Our purpose in action
Continuous improvement and innovation are part of our DNA
Innovation
The need for innovation is greater than ever
We supply the metals and minerals used to help the world grow and decarbonise
Iron Ore
The primary raw material used to make steel, which is strong, long-lasting and cost-efficient
Lithium
The lightest of all metals, it is a key element needed for low-carbon technologies
Copper
Tough but malleable, corrosion-resistant and recyclable, and an excellent conductor of heat and transmitter of electricity
Bringing to market materials critical to urbanisation and the transition to a low-carbon economy
Oyu Tolgoi
One of the most modern, safe and sustainable operations in the world
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
Climate Change
We’re targeting net zero emissions by 2050
Nature solutions
Our nature-based solutions projects complement the work we're doing to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions
Enabling ESG transparency
Our STARTâ„¢ initiative tracks traceability and responsible production of ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úmaterials.
We aim to deliver superior returns to our shareholders while safeguarding the environment and meeting our obligations to wider society
Reports 2024
Download our 2024 suite of reports, including our 2024 Taxes and Royalties Paid Report, detailing $8.4 billion of taxes and royalties paid globally during the year
Get the latest news, stories and updates
Things You Can't Live Without
Our podcast discussing what needs to happen to create a sustainable future for the everyday items we have come to rely on
Refuelling the mining industry
How can we power the world’s biggest machines with new fuel solutions?
Forging a low-carbon future
How we're working to decarbonise iron ore and steel
Discover more about life at Rio Tinto
Graduates and 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
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Stephen D'Esposito is the Founder and CEO of , a social enterprise that plans to transform legacy sites into ecological assets while producing critical minerals. Stephen is also the President of RESOLVE.
"What has always fascinated me is how you make change in the world.
I first got into environmental work after graduating from college in the 80s. Then I started working for Greenpeace, which was doing an essential job of bringing issues to the forefront and showing what needed to change.
If you're going to tackle whaling, you put yourself between the harpoon and the whale, and that creates the leverage you need to change practices. But when it comes to something like climate change, it’s much more complicated. It became clear to me that I wanted to keep working on the same issues but, to do that, I had to work with industry to get something constructive done with the companies that were seen as the problem.
And so that's when I started working more closely with certain companies that I thought had an interest in doing things a little differently. I started working a lot on mining issues at that stage – and that’s what led me to start Regeneration.
I'm the unlikely CEO of a mining company, right? Because I come from the environmental community. But in my way of thinking, that combination – where you can bring together mining companies with leadership from civil society and NGOs – is exactly what's needed right now.
Regeneration is a different kind of mining company – we focus first on restoration outcomes. When we identify a restoration opportunity, we then work together with the community to build a closure vision. Then we use re-mining to achieve better community, conservation, and climate outcomes.
Waste from past mining contains metals like cobalt, lithium, copper, platinum and tellurium. That waste can help fuel the energy transition and meet the responsible sourcing needs of green technology and sustainable brands. We go in and remine waste rock and water, take the metals out which are part of the pollution problem, and then turn it into a positive green product to help fuel the energy transition. So mine waste becomes not just a risk, but also an amazing opportunity.
We blend NGO and commercial thinking, and we draw on experts from both sectors. And using this model, we can disrupt the status quo.”
In 2021 ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Újoined forces with RESOLVE, a non-profit organisation, to launch Regeneration, a start-up that will use the re-mining and processing of waste from legacy mine sites to support rehabilitation activities and restore natural environments.
Regeneration will extract valuable minerals and metals from mine tailings, waste rock and water. Earnings from the sale of these responsibly sourced materials will be reinvested to help fund habitat restoration and closure activities, including at legacy and previously abandoned mine sites. Regeneration will also seek to create and trade biodiversity and carbon credits by rehabilitating land and generating environmental offsets.
We’re investing $2 million in Regeneration and will work with them to identify potential opportunities for the first Regeneration project.
Stephen D'Esposito says there are 3 reasons the time is right to re-think mining waste and mine sites.
Over the past few years, our scientists and engineers have been hard at work finding new uses for every material we dig out of the ground and using the by-products of our metal processing operations too. In Canada we’re producing scandium from titanium waste and in the US we’re creating tellurium as a by-product of copper production.
By extracting valuable minerals from waste – or creating new products from the waste itself – we can reduce the amount sent to landfill, make useful products, create new revenue streams and help our customers meet their sustainability goals.