We’re on a mission to become the world’s most valued metals and mining business – for the people who invest in us, the people we work and partner with, and the communities around us
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
All progress begins with pioneers. At Rio Tinto, it begins with you.
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
Simandou Project
The world’s largest untapped high-grade iron ore deposit
Western Australia
While iron ore is central to our operations in WA, we have a diverse presence across the state, from salt, lithium, our diamond legacy and our promising copper-gold project
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 START™ initiative tracks traceability and responsible production of Rio Tinto materials.
We aim to deliver superior returns to our shareholders while safeguarding the environment and meeting our obligations to wider society
Bank of America Global Metals Mining Steel Conference 2026
Miami, 12 May 2026
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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
Closing the aluminium loop
How we keep aluminium in use
Supporting the circular economy
We work and partner to keep resources in use for a more circular future
Discover more about life at Rio Tinto
Graduates and interns
If you want to drive real change, we have just the place to do it
In-house consulting
Discover how our in-house consultancy team, PACE, offers a unique opportunity to help shape Rio Tinto from the inside
Available jobs
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Producing the materials the world needs relies on access to land, and we recognise that this comes with responsibility. The places where we operate are home to thriving ecosystems, many of which hold deep cultural and spiritual significance for Indigenous and Land-Connected Peoples.
Mining is temporary, but its footprint can be lasting. As stewards of the land during the life of our operations, we are committed to managing it responsibly — protecting biodiversity, preserving natural heritage, and planning for sustainable outcomes after mining ends. Nature loss is a global challenge that threatens ecosystems, livelihoods, and economies. We have a responsibility to manage land in a way that’s sustainable and considerate of the past, present and future values of the land, like we are doing at Gove.
Our Environment Standards set out the minimum requirements for responsible land management across our managed assets. These standards include our position and commitment to responsible land management and environmental stewardship. Learn more about our approach to environmental commitments, governance, risk, assurance, performance and targets.
As our operations are spread across different regions and landscapes, land related risks vary from place to place. To consistently identify, assess, manage and communicate these risks, we’ve developed an air risk framework and associated control library. This risk framework is embedded in our assets’ approach to operational risk management.
Our approach covers 3 categories:
We use the framework to understand land-related risk across our portfolio at a point in time. We also collect specific metrics from each asset annually on:
More detailed information can be found in the annual Sustainability Fact Book.
Every operation interacts with land differently. Some sites, such as open-cut mines creates a dynamic, changing footprint. While a smelter retains a largely fixed footprint over time. These differences shape the way we manage land and plan for rehabilitation. Mining methods also matter. For example, bauxite and mineral sands mining allow for progressive rehabilitation—restoring areas as we develop—while open-cut and underground mines often require more complex, long-term rehabilitation strategies.
Today, the largest share of our land footprint is in Australia, followed by the United States, Canada, Mongolia and South Africa. Our responsibility to minimise our impacts and protect landscapes goes beyond our operational footprint. Our standards apply not only to areas where we operate but extend to all landholdings under our care. We classify our landholdings into 2 categories:
In operational areas, we track progress by measuring how much land has been rehabilitated compared to how much remains disturbed. This approach ensures transparency and accountability in how we manage and restore the environments entrusted to us.
Our approach to implementing rehabilitation is collaborative. We work with practitioners, environmental scientists, and cultural heritage experts, academic institutions, Indigenous organisations and businesses, and other stakeholders to deliver outcomes that are self-sustaining and aligned with regulatory and community expectations. Methods are tailored to the local geography and climate, as well as the desired rehabilitation outcomes. In most cases, our aim is to re-establish functional and stable ecosystems that complement pre-existing conditions.
Land stewardship has many interfaces. We’re careful to align and integrate our approach with how we manage communities and social performance, closure, human rights (land access and use) and mineral and non-mineral materials management, including tailings.
As temporary stewards of the land, we plan for the end of mining from the very beginning. At our more modern mines like Diavik in Canada, mine closure is integrated into planning with communities from the outset and is integrated into operational decision-making. The buildings on site have been designed to be demolished and disposed of safely, if they cannot be repurposed. We have had ongoing community engagement to discuss how Indigenous Traditional knowledge can inform and be incorporated into closure plans and activities.
Effective land management starts well before any on-ground activity. We undertake extensive programs to understand soils, plants, animals, ecosystems, and stakeholder values in the areas where we plan to operate. We work with First Nations and Land-Connected Peoples, local communities and other stakeholders to define future land use after mining ends.
This shared vision guides how we manage land and carry out rehabilitation. Once we understand what matters most in the landscape, we apply the mitigation hierarchy to reduce our impacts. For example, at Winu we’re redesigning our proposed mine footprint to avoid impacts to the endangered night parrot.
Sustainability reporting
To improve rehabilitation success at many of our operations, one of our first activities in a new area of development is to collect and store soils and native seeds. For example, at Gove, local Yolngu people gather native seeds on the mining lease prior to mining. These seeds are later used to restore rehabilitated areas, ensuring cultural and ecological continuity.
We integrate progressive rehabilitation into our business planning, ensuring that wherever possible, land is rehabilitated as it becomes available. Rehabilitation typically involves reshaping landforms, applying necessary cover materials and topsoil and revegetating areas by spreading seeds or planting saplings. We disclose our land stewardship performance annually in the Sustainability Fact Book, including the total area impacted by mining to date and how we are progressively rehabilitating this footprint. By reporting both annual and cumulative disturbance and rehabilitation data, we provide transparency and enable stakeholders to understand the ratio of disturbed land to that which is being rehabilitated for the next agreed land use.
View our interactive charts for current and historical data relating to our land performance.
We hold many important partnerships that are imperative to us managing land sustainably and productively. We understand the connection between land and nature, and are shifting our land management practices towards a larger catchment scale lens.
To do so means we must partner with, and learn from the stakeholders who know the landscape so that we may manage and close it responsibly.
Land and the nature it supports across our global operations is extremely diverse, and can be complex to manage. We are passionate about finding better ways™ to manage land at our operations through innovations in science, technology and engineering.
We partner with universities and research institutions so that we may continuously evolve our land management practices and drive sustainable outcomes.
Disturbance: Land disturbed for mining, processing and related activities that is currently in use and/or not yet rehabilitated. Generally this land will have received some sort of surface treatment (eg stabilised, ripped, covered with topsoil and seeded) and may be revegetated.
Rehabilitation: All land that has been treated for final closure and now only requires care and maintenance. Generally, this land will have received some sort of surface treatment (eg stabilised, ripped, covered with topsoil and seeded) and may be revegetated such as planted with seedlings. In some jurisdictions the word reclamation is utilised, or remediation and reclamation. The intent is that it indicates areas that have had all processes (treatments) required (apart from maintenance and monitoring). Depending on the type of rehabilitation it can take more than 30 years after rehabilitation activities are completed to achieve the agreed outcomes.
Landholdings: land for which we have legal rights related to ownership, use or access.