About
Rio Tinto is one of the world's largest metals and mining corporations, founded in 1873 when a British consortium bought the Rio Tinto copper mines in southern Spain. Today the group is dual-listed in London and Sydney, employs around 53,000 people, and produces iron ore, aluminium, copper, lithium, and a range of industrial minerals across 35 countries. The company's iron ore business, centered on the Pilbara region of Western Australia, ships more than 300 million tonnes per year to steelmakers in China, Japan, and Korea. Its aluminium arm, built around the 2007 acquisition of Alcan, operates smelters powered largely by hydroelectricity, giving it one of the lowest-carbon aluminium footprints in the industry. Rio Tinto is also developing the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia, one of the largest undeveloped copper deposits in the world. For buyers of metals and minerals, Rio Tinto offers consistent product quality, large-scale logistics, and growing volumes of 'green' aluminium and copper that help downstream manufacturers meet carbon-reduction targets.
Also known as: Rio Tinto
