Rio Tinto Zinc
Profile
Rio Tinto is a global mining company that was founded in 1873 when the Spanish government privatized a 100 year old government mine on the Rio Tinto, in Huelva, Spain. The company opened the Corta Atalaya copper mine, which gained notoriety not only as the world's largest in its heyday, but also for a massacre of some 150 miners who went on strike in 1888 against labor abuses and environmental pollution. Over the last 150 years, the company has become a flashpoint for similar protests around the world in dozens of countries. In the 1970s, activists against the company's operations around the world joined hands to create Partizans (People Against Rio Tinto Zinc and Subsidiaries) to send delegates to the company annual meetings.
Conflict over environmental pollution at Rio Tinto's Panguna copper mine, on the island of Bougainville, caused the local community to rise up and kick out the government of Papua New Guinea in an effort to secede. Recent controversies over Rio Tinto's impact include a massive popular uprising in Serbia in 2022 over the company's $2.4 billion plan to dig for lithium in the Jadar region; and the demolition of Juukan Gorge, a 46,000 year-old sacred Aboriginal site in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, in a quest for iron ore, despite the fact that company executives were aware of the site’s significance to local indigenous communities.
Iron ore, aluminium, copper, borates, lithium, scandium, diamonds, salt, ferrous metals, titanium dioxide
Violations
| TOP 5 OFFENSE GROUPS (GROUPS DEFINED) | PENALTY TOTAL | NUMBER OF RECORDS |
|---|---|---|
| financial offenses | $28,000,000 | 1 |
| environment-related offenses | $20,652,775 | 15 |
| competition-related offenses | $15,000,000 | 1 |
| employment-related offenses | $3,086,899 | 8 |
| safety-related offenses | $1,202,725 | 105 |
(March 14, 2024)
Stories
- Extraction Politics: Rio Tinto and the Corporate Persona by Nicholas S. Paliewicz (Penn State University Press, 2024)
- Scramble for Resources: The International Race for Bougainville’s Mineral Wealth by Jubilee Australia Research Centre (2022)
- The (Un)just Use of Transition Minerals: How Efforts to Achieve a Low-Carbon Economy Continue to Violate Indigenous Rights by Kathleen Finn and Christina A. W. Stanton (University of Chicago Law School, 2022)
- Freeport, the Environment, and the Amungme: An Environmental History of the Freeport McMoran Cooper and Gold Mine in Papua, Indonesia by Kole A. Dawson (Boise State University, May 2021)
- After the mine: living with Rio Tinto’s deadly legacy by Keren Adams and Hollie Kerwin (Human Rights Law Centre, 2020)
- The Ecologists and the Mine by Rowan Moore Gerety (Scientific American, July 1, 2019)
- Buried Treasure: The Wealth Australian Mining Companies Hide Around the World by Oxfam Australia, Tax Justice Network Australia, and Uniting Church in Australia Synod Victoria and Tasmania (July 2019)
- The health impacts of extractive industry transnational corporations: a study of Rio Tinto in Australia and Southern Africa by Julia Anaf, Frances Baum, Mark Fisher, and Leslie London (Global Health, February 2019)
- State Crime on the Margins of Empire: Rio Tinto, the War on Bougainville and Resistance to Mining by Kristian Lasslett (Pluto Press, 2014)
- Mining Capitalism: The Relationship Between Corporations and Their Critics by Stuart Kirsch (University of California Press, 2014)
- Special Report: Rio Tinto unsustainable business practice by Glen Mpufane and Armelle Seby (IndustriALL, 2013)
- Rio Tinto in Africa: Global citizen or corporate shame? by IndustriALL (June 2012)
- Mining, Corporate Responsibility and the "Community": the Case of Rio Tinto, Richards Bay Minerals and the Mbonambi by Paul Kamelus (Journal of Business Ethics, September 2002)
- Plunder! The Story of Rio Tinto Zinc by Roger Moody (Partizans, 1991)
- River of Tears: The Rise of the Rio Tinto-Zinc Mining Corporation by Richard West (Earth Island, 1972)
Activism
Rio Tinto’s Madagascar Mine Promised Prosperity. It Tainted a Community
Neha Wadekar | The Intercept | April 3, 2024
Residents living near the mine are expected to partner with a UK-based law firm to hold Rio Tinto accountable for its devastating pollution
Jabiluka uranium mine lease sparks tension with Kakadu’s traditional owners
Nick Toscano and Simon Johanson | The Sydney Morning Herald | March 20, 2024
Despite telling the Mirrar, the ancestral owners of the land, that no more mining projects would be pursued, Rio Tinto subsidiary Energy Resources Australia is applying for a new lease to restart uranium mining
First Nations praise ruling 'forcing' Crown to protect interests
Jason Proctor | CBC | February 28, 2024
The Sai’kuz and Stellat’en First Nations in British Columbia received backing from the Canadian government in their dispute with Rio Tinto over rights to the Nechako River, but are still hoping to hold the company accountable further
*Click here to read more about the history of the fight for the Nechako River
Rio Tinto: Bougainville’s minister calls for mining giant’s commitment to redress Panguna legacy issues
Tiana Haxton | RNZ | February 28, 2024
In partnership with the Australian Human Rights Law Centre, Minister Roka Matbob is trying to make sure Rio Tinto follows through on clean-up and remediation plans
Serbian Environmentalists Alarmed by Renewed Talk of Rio Tinto Mine
Sasa Dragojlo | Balkan Insight | January 22, 2024
In recent years, Serbian NGOs and protests mobilized successfully against Rio Tinto’s plans to ramp up lithium mining in their country but it looks like the battle may not be finished
Fight continues to have radioactive mine waste removed from Elliot Lake, Ont. properties
Jonathan Migneault | CBC | December 6, 2023
In northern Ontario, a uranium mine, once owned by Rio Tinto, is still wreaking havoc on the health and safety of local residents years later as a result of hazardous levels of radiation
Apache tribe decry loss of sacred site to massive copper mine at both court and the U.N.
Kate Schimel | Mongabay | April 27, 2023
Plans by a Rio Tinto subsidiary to build a copper mine on Oak Flat, land held sacred by the San Carlos Apache tribe in Arizona, has been met with resistance
Rio Tinto facing suit from Panguna landowners
Myriam Robin | Financial Review | April 24, 2023
In a separate case from that brought forward by the Australian Human Rights Centre, residents of Bougainville are looking to charge Rio Tinto with violating human rights and causing intergenerational trauma
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Launches Initiative Opposing Multi-Billion Dollar Nickel Mine
Darren Thompson | Native News Online | March 20, 2023
The Mille Lac Band of Ojibwe along with environmental organizations plan to fight the Talon Metals/Rio Tinto nickel mine being proposed on their land that would supply minerals to the likes of Tesla
Guinea: Ensuring respect for rights under the massive iron ore project
Human Rights Watch | December 7, 2022
The Simandou iron mine in Guinea, in development for years, was and is still a site of human rights concerns pertaining to forced displacement, destruction of biodiversity, and worsening climate change
*Click here for new reports in French on the Simandou project
**Click here to view BankTrack's profile of the project
Ba-Phalaborwa demands justice from Rio Tinto
London Mining Network | September 11, 2012
The Ba-Phalaborwa Indigenous community in South Africa protested against the Palabora copper mine, asserting it has destroyed their homes without bringing much benefit
Protests over fatal collapse at Freeport/Rio Tinto West Papua mine
Down To Earth | November 2003
Knowing that a landslide was imminent, operators of the Grasberg mine moved some equipment out of the way to avoid damage yet kept workers on the job, leading to the deaths of eight people
International:
Australia:
United States:
- Apache Stronghold
- Arizona Mining Reform Coalition
- Earthworks
- Inclusive Development International
- Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy
- Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment
Other:
& Lawsuits
Aluminum industry watchdog ignored violations at Guinea mine
Inclusive Development International | January 30, 2024
A Rio Tinto majority-owned mine was given a certificate for mining “responsibly” even as long-running concerns about its polluting effects and displacement of local villagers still have not been fully addressed
Rio Tinto’s lawyers unveil mammoth effort to defend Clough legal battle
Jesinta Burton | WA Today | July 12, 2023
Another company partnering with Rio Tinto to build a railroad in Australia has demanded $150 million in damages, claiming Rio Tinto raised costs arbitrarily and failed to warn of asbestos exposure to its employees
Rio Tinto apologises for losing radioactive capsule in Australia
Monica Miller, Lucy Hooker & Phil Mercer | BBC | January 30, 2023
After potentially coming loose during transit, the radioactive capsule is nowhere to be found with both Rio Tinto and officials fearing it could end up causing serious health concerns for whoever finds it
Rio Tinto must face lawsuit in US over Mongolian mine cost overruns
CNN | September 6, 2022
Shareholders claimed that Rio Tinto and Turqoise Hill Resources misled them about their project in Mongolia, going way over budget and stalling operations
Mining in Richards Bay remains a double-edged sword
Chris Makhaye | Mail & Guardian | December 18, 2021
In South Africa, Richards Bay Minerals, owned by Rio Tinto, has systematically shut out local residents from getting jobs. Mysteriously, many community members who have mobilized for RBM to work with locals have ended up being murdered.
Pandora Papers show Rio Tinto continued to trade with Chinese billionaire Du Shuanghua after bribery scandal
Echo Hui | Australian Broadcasting Company | October 4, 2021
Rio Tinto, in maintaining a trading relationship with Du Shuanghua even after he bribed executives, shows a complete disregard for ethics and transparency
Rio Tinto expected to destroy 124 more Aboriginal sites, inquiry told
Calla Wahlquist | The Guardian | September 21, 2020
After blowing up a 46,000-year-old heritage site on Aboriginal land, Rio Tinto set its sights on inflicting even more damage as it takes on a new iron ore project in the blast’s vicinity.
Rio Tinto and Innu communities negotiate agreement over long-standing dispute
Tijana Mitrovic | CIM Magazine | August 28, 2020
The settlement comes after Innu First Nations communities in eastern Canada launched a hundred-million-dollar suit against Rio Tinto for infringing on their ancestral land
Rio Tinto did not tell traditional owners blowing up Juukan Gorge site was just one option for mine
Calla Wahlquist | The Guardian | August 7, 2020
Rio Tinto claimed it gained the free prior and informed consent of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura peoples to blow up the gorge, but it failed to follow through on the “informed” part
How Spain used “alternative facts” to bury environmental protest in 1888
Manuel Ansede | El País | June 27, 2017
In 1888, the Spanish military, to the benefit of Rio Tinto, killed dozens of people who were protesting the toxic fumes emitted by the company's mines
Rio Tinto wins end to human rights abuse lawsuit in US
Papua New Guinea Today | July 2, 2013
A US Court of Appeals gave Bougainville residents the go-ahead to sue Rio Tinto for genocide and war crimes, but unfortunately another court later reversed this ruling
*Information on the original ruling can be found here
Rio Tinto four jailed for up to 14 years by Chinese court
Tania Branigan | The Guardian | March 29, 2010
A group of Rio Tinto executives were found to have accepted bribes from other businesspeople in exchange for access to raw materials
Environmental Impact
A rush for ‘green’ iron is on in Guinea. Will chimpanzees be a casualty?
Juliette Portola | Mongabay | January 17, 2024
Rio Tinto’s multibillion-dollar iron project in Simandou, Guinea may seriously threaten critically endangered western chimpanzees
In Quebec’s aluminum towns, the green-tech future looks like the past
Lital Khaikin | The Breach | November 17, 2023
In Saguenay, Quebec, Rio Tinto’s aluminum smelters have meant devastating pollution and high rates of cancer for local residents
Schoolteachers fight for environmental justice in battle with Rio Tinto over air pollution -- and win!
Impact Fund | October 30, 2023
In 2019, Rio Tinto was forced to settle with community members in Kitimat, British Columbia over sulphur dioxide pollution from its aluminum smelter
‘Slap on wrist’ for Rio Tinto and Fortescue after breaching environmental regulations in WA
Peter de Kruijff | ABC Pilbara | May 17, 2023
An audit revealed Rio Tinto established a pattern of avoiding fines and failing to acquire the proper environmental permits for its operations in western Australia
Land Grabs and the Cost of Mining in Mongolia
Elena Gordillo | The Diplomat | April 6, 202
A Rio Tinto subsidiary, Turquoise Hill, is threatening water rights and traditional pastoralist livelihoods in Mongolia as a result of its land grabbing
Rio Tinto-owned mine is polluting Malagasy water with uranium and lead, NGOs say
Mongabay | September 1, 2021
High levels of uranium and lead, which are extremely toxic if consumed, have been found in natural water supplies near a mine in Madascagar, with Rio Tinto refusing to take accountability.
'Our rivers are poisoned': Residents raise Rio Tinto human rights claims
Nick Toscano | The Sydney Morning Herald | September 29, 2020
Residents of Bougainville, an island in Papua New Guinea, have been living with the impacts of Rio Tinto’s negligence for years after the company did not clean up a local mine, leaving it to pollute the neighboring waters.
Rio Tinto chairman Simon Thompson in greenwashing masterclass
Joe Aston | Financial Review | April 15, 2020
Thompson made a big fuss about painting Rio Tinto as a renewable champion, yet the company emitted roughly 18.4 million tons of CO2 in 2019, more than double that emitted by the foremost coal producer in Australia
New Zealand threatens to sue Rio Tinto after floods threatened toxic waste
Australian Associated Press | The Guardian | February 12, 2020
After ignoring how hazardous waste from one of its aluminium plants was contaminating flood water, Rio Tinto could face a hefty lawsuit if it does not clean up its act
Restoring What’s Left Behind from Mining
Wisconsin Public Radio | Danielle Kaeding | December 16, 2017
A copper-gold mine, operated by Flambeau Mining Co., itself owned by Rio Tinto, was open during the 90s but left behind seriously degraded water conditions
Rio Tinto’s Kennecott wins clean air lawsuit in the US
Mining.com | September 24, 2013
Doctors, environmentalists, and concerned citizens previously brought a lawsuit against Rio Tinto for the extreme pollution caused by a copper mine in Utah, but unfortunately lost to the company
*Read more about the initial lawsuit here
Olympic medal pollution protesters disrupt Rio Tinto meeting
Rupert Neate | The Guardian | April 19, 2012
Ahead of the 2012 Olympics being held in London, protests gathered to raise awareness of Rio Tinto’s dismal environmental record to show the company was not a virtuous sponsor of the games
& Relations
Death of diamond mine workers force Rio Tinto to confront 'existential' concerns
Judy Trinh | CTV News | January 28, 2024
A plane crash killing four Rio Tinto employees has meant an investigation is on the horizon for the company to determine whether wrongdoing occurred
‘Horrific’ incidents revealed in Australia mining inquiry
Jason Scott | Al Jazeera | June 23, 2022
Rio Tinto was named among other mining companies as facilitating a culture of sexual harassment toward female employees, especially those engaged in Fly In-Fly Out work, where travel to remote mining sites is involved
1,300 copper mine workers in Utah prepare for struggle against Rio Tinto
Jessica Goldstein and Jerry White | World Socialist Web Site | March 30, 2022
Rio Tinto’s Kennecott mine in Utah has long been a site of labor repression with the company and larger unions using strikebreakers, anti-Communist rhetoric, and strike-blocking to scare workers
Rio’s bullying and cultural woes blamed on union-busting past
Peter Ker, David Marin-Guzman, and Sally Patten | Financial Review | February 2, 2022
Rio Tinto’s history of systematically targeting union membership in Australia during the 90s has contributed to a culture of precarious work and reduced oversight
Rio Tinto worker died after walking for hours in extreme heat looking for drill sites
Holly Thompson | WA Today | October 26, 2021
Paul Fogarty, a Rio Tinto employee in Pilbara, Australia, died from dehydration, leading Rio Tinto to pay an $80,000 fine for failing to ensure his safety
Rössing’s ‘sick and toxic’ legacy
Timo Shihepo | The Namibian Investigative Unit | May 20, 2021
Workers who mined uranium at Rio Tinto’s Namibian mine for nuclear weapons testify to experiencing higher levels of cancer and other sicknesses
Revealed: Rio Tinto's plan to use drones to monitor workers' private lives
Max Opray | The Guardian | December 8, 2016
Without the knowledge or consent of its workers, Rio Tinto enlisted a technology company with previous experience monitoring prisons to track the movements and activities of employees in its mining camps in Western Australia
Workers protest against ‘return to apartheid’ at Rio Tinto in Namibia
IndustriALL | August 17, 2015
Workers at a uranium mine in Namibia called out Rio Tinto for using surveillance equipment to track their movements, as well as relying on precarious, under-paid labor
Safety first? Another fatality at Rio Tinto
IndustriALL | February 4, 2015
A worker at Rio Tinto’s Madagascar mine died while doing dangerous excavation work during a night shift
Grasberg - deadly accident in Rio Tinto mine could have been prevented
IndustriALL | March 19, 2014
28 workers at a mine in West Papua were killed by a collapsed roof during a training session, with an Indonesian human rights commission establishing the company could have been thwarted
Rio Tinto: A Shameful History of Human and Labor Rights Abuses and Environmental Degradation Around the Globe
London Mining Network | April 20, 2010
Rio Tinto’s labor and human rights abuses go way back, with the company suppressing left-wing labor movements in Francoist Spain and keeping Black workers under slave-like conditions in apartheid-era Namibia
Labor War in the Mojave
Mike Davis | The Nation | March 12, 2010
At a borax mine in the California desert, workers fought back against Rio Tinto’s anti-labor practices that involved cutting union jobs, refusing benefits, and reneging on pensions. Then they were locked out.
Financials
Rio Tinto Faces Possible Norway Fund Divestment Over Alleged Deforestation Links
Julie Steingberg | The Wall Street Journal | April 3, 2024
Rio Tinto could miss out on a portion of the $1.6 trillion fund if more evidence is found to show a mine in the Brazilian Amazon has indeed been fuelling environmental damage
Financiers warned of huge risks to communities and biodiversity as Rio Tinto approves world’s biggest mining project
BankTracks and Advocates for Community Alternatives | February 26, 2024
Rio Tinto has been repeatedly advised not to go ahead with an iron mine in Simandou, Guinea yet it is still planning on moving forward
Rio Tinto wrangles investors over water contamination claims
Melanie Burton | Reuters | February 11, 2024
Concerns have been raised that UK pension funds should not be invested in Rio Tinto unless it stops greenwashing its role as a major polluter
Rio Tinto pays $28 million to settle SEC fraud case following troubled Mozambican coal deal
Louis Goss | MarketWatch | November 22, 2023
Six years after charges were brought, Rio Tinto agreed to pay up after lying to investors about the value of its assets in connection with a proposed mining project in Mozambique
How the World Bank Group is Enabling the Deaths of Endangered Chimps
Lisa Song | ProPublica | June 15, 2023
World Bank funding for Rio Tinto’s project in Guinea was predicated on the inclusion of “biodiversity offsets” to ensure chimps are protected but many were killed in the process
One in Three Directors at Australia’s Major Banks Have Ties to Oil, Gas, and Mining
Rachel Sherrington | DeSmog | August 17, 2021
Executives at Australia’s top banks have previously held roles working for mining companies like Rio Tinto, and have even worked for think tanks that advocate for climate inaction.
Norway excludes Rio Tinto over environmental damage
Nyree Stewart | Investment & Pensions Europe | September 8, 2009
Norway’s state pension fund divested 604 million euros from Rio Tinto, citing concerns that its Grasberg mine in Indonesia was dumping huge amounts of contaminants into nearby water sources
Political Influence
Open Secrets – Tracks corporate lobbying of US politicians
OpenSecrets.org Profile of Rio Tinto
A Secretive Network Is Fighting Indigenous Rights in Australia and Canada, Expert Says
Geoff Dembicki | DeSmog | October 10, 2023
Despite making contributions to the “Yes” campaign to boost Aboriginal voices in parliament, Rio Tinto has shady ties to organization spearheading the No movement
Rio Tinto pays $22m to settle US probe into Simandou violations
Peter Ker | Financial Review | March 7, 2023
Rio Tinto hired a “consultant” with close ties to top Guinean political officials in an attempt to bribe its way into acquiring mining permits
Mining firms worked to kill off climate action in Australia, says ex-PM
Christopher Knaus | The Guardian | October 10, 2019
Rio Tinto, amongst other major fossil fuel emitters, has spent millions lobbying the Australian government to forgo introducing and enforcing climate and mining taxes
After Brexit, Climate Science Denialists Form New Group to Call for a Clexit
Graham Readfearn | DeSmog | August 3, 2016
Rio Tinto contributed $210,000 to a political foundation with shady ties to the “Clexit” movement, which calls for the UK’s withdrawal from international climate agreements
& Evasion
Mozambique launches tax enforcement to recover USD239 million from Rio Tinto
Radio Moçambique | November 12, 2023
The nation’s tax authority is attempting to pursue a case against Rio Tinto for its profit shifting to Internacional Coal Ventures Private
How a Tax Victory in Mongolia Is Also a Major Win in the Fight Against Poverty
Joe McCarthy | Global Citizen | August 8, 2022
Turquoise Hill, a Canadian mining company owned by Rio Tinto, had to pay $1.63 billion after funneling taxable funds into shell companies in Luxembourg and the Netherlands
Rio Tinto agrees to pay nearly $1 billion in tax avoidance settlement with Australian Tax Office
Australian Broadcasting Company | July 20, 2022
Rio Tinto relied on “marketing hubs” in Singapore to minimize its taxable profits in Australia
Rio Tinto’s withdrawal from exploration a ‘big win’ for WA’s jarrah forests
Peter Milne | WA Today | June 21, 2023
The decision to revoke Rio Tinto’s permit to explore forested areas for battery minerals will ensure the forests, already in danger of disappearing due to hotter weather, are better preserved
Hit Movie Red Dog and Its Mining Industry Funding
Graham Readfearn | DeSmog | September 2, 2011
Rio Tinto contributed to the production and funding of Red Dog, a movie that paints an awfully romanticized picture of mining in Australia
Rio Tinto closes Kelian mine – history of human rights abuse
Down to Earth | May 2005
After over a decade in operation, the mine in Indonesia was closed, leaving behind a legacy of pollution, forced relocation, and pain for local residents
Procurement
CorpWatch is still gathering procurement data on Rio Tinto at this time