- Business
- Rio Tinto Group (RIO.BA) is a British-Australian multinational mining company that finds, mines and processes mineral resources worldwide, producing iron ore; aluminum including bauxite, alumina and primary aluminum; copper and associated by-products such as gold, silver, molybdenum and sulfuric acid; diamonds; and energy and industrial minerals including lithium, uranium, borates, titanium dioxide, salt and iron ore concentrate and pellets. The company operates through four main segments of Iron Ore, Aluminium, Copper and Minerals; with key assets including iron ore mines in Australia's Pilbara region, bauxite mines in Australia, Brazil and Guinea, aluminum smelters, the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia, Escondida copper operations in Chile, and lithium resources in Argentina, Australia, Canada and the United States following its 2025 acquisition of Arcadium Lithium. Rio Tinto, founded in 1873 with dual headquarters in London, England, and Melbourne, Australia, conducts operations across more than 35 countries on six continents, primarily in Australia, Canada, the United States, Mongolia, Chile and Guinea, serving global markets in steel production, transportation, construction, energy transition materials and industrial applications. Recent developments include the March 2025 completion of its $6.7 billion acquisition of Arcadium Lithium, rebranded as Rio Tinto Lithium to bolster its position as the world's third-largest lithium producer and expand capacity toward 200,000 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate equivalent by 2028; a May 2025 joint venture with Codelco granting Rio Tinto a 49.99% stake in Chile's high-grade Salar de Maricunga lithium project with up to $900 million in committed funding, pending final regulatory approvals expected in early 2026; a November 2025 partnership with Calix investing over A$35 million in a demonstration plant for hydrogen-enabled low-emissions Zesty steel technology using Pilbara iron ore in Western Australia while pausing its own BioIron initiative; and a new operating model announced in October 2025 restructuring into three core businesses of Iron Ore, Aluminium & Lithium, and Copper, with Borates and Iron & Titanium under strategic review.