Rio Tinto shifts global operations to target copper, transition metals
One of the world’s biggest mining companies has shifted their focus away from iron ore, towards the mineral it believes will drive the global energy transition.
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Rio Tinto has reaffirmed its aspirations to produce 1 million tonnes of copper annually by 2028 as part of its broader strategy to be a leading global supplier of energy transition minerals.
The world’s second-biggest miner in a statement to investors on Wednesday, promised copper production volumes would increase by 18 per cent next year, up to 850,000 tonnes.
This represents a significant shift away from the company’s linchpin iron ore sector. With growing demand for critical minerals and rare earth elements like copper, Rio has revised earnings forecasts for the iron ore segment of the business.
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The division responsible for 77 per cent of Rio’s earnings over the last five years will fall to around 55 per cent in the midterm, according to the AFR. This follows weaker-than-expected projections for 2025, with shipments from the miner’s Pilbara operations forecasted to be up to 15 million tonnes below market consensus.
Rio’s aspirations of copper production growth rest on expanded operations at its flagship copper mine, Oya Tolgoi in Mongolia. The company has indicated they expect production to increase by more than 50 per cent in 2024.
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Rio Tinto hosted its annual Investor Seminar this week with CEO Jakob Stausholm addressing investors.
“As we ramp up the Oyu Tolgoi underground copper mine, deliver the Simandou high-grade iron-ore project in Guinea, and build out our lithium business through the proposed acquisition of Arcadium, we are underwriting a decade of profitable growth,” he said.
“We have all the building blocks we need to become a global leader in energy transition materials.”
The miner has also been making moves in the Australian market striking a deal with the mining subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, Sumitomo, to build a new copper and gold mine in Western Australia.
The Winu copper-gold site was first discovered in 2017 by Rio, and has the potential to be one of Australia’s top six copper mines.
As part of a broader strategic partnership between the two miners, Sumitomo Metal Mining will pay for a 30 per cent equity stake in the project, with a pre-feasibility study and Environmental Impact Assessment scheduled for 2025.
The resource deposit remains “open at depth” meaning drillers have not yet reached the bottom of the deposit.
Additionally Rio has not yet reached the edges of the resource on three of its four sides.
As such analysts have yet to value the project, with Rio expecting the operation to potentially be much bigger than currently reported.
Originally published as Rio Tinto shifts global operations to target copper, transition metals
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