ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Ú

This article was on 21 August 2026.
Portrait shot Matthew, our Chief Executive, Iron Ore

Matthew Holcz

Matthew is our Chief Executive, Iron Ore. He joined ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úin 2007 and brings more than 20 years’ mining industry experience across operations, major projects, business development and commercial roles. Matthew has worked across iron ore, copper and nickel operations in Australia, Asia, South America and the UK. He was most recently Managing Director, Pilbara Mines, leading Rio Tinto’s 18 iron ore operations in Western Australia. 
Last updated: 31 August 2026

Australia’s success has been built on opportunity. 

Opportunity that has been realised through ambition, determination and hard work – and underpinned by close partnership between industry, community and government.

Nowhere is that more evident than in the Pilbara, where 60 years ago Rio Tinto’s first iron ore shipment left Dampier.   

Six decades on, ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿ÚIron Ore is now a global business, headquartered in Perth, and the Pilbara has become the engine room of the national economy. 

We’re proud of our part in the Pilbara’s story.  

It's one that starts with Traditional Owners, whose connection to Country stretches back tens of thousands of years, and continues through generations of Australians who have helped shape our industry. 

Their commitment, resilience and perseverance have been fundamental to our success. 

It’s difficult to find someone in WA who doesn’t have a connection to the iron ore region. 

ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úis one of the largest private sector employers in WA, with our people living in communities across the state. 

Our connection with these communities shapes where and how we invest. 

Over the past five years, we’ve contributed about half a billion dollars in community initiatives, building on decades of investment.  

It’s the same in local supply chains – we’ve doubled our spend in the past four years. In 2025, we spent a record $12 billion with WA businesses. 

This translates into more local jobs and opportunities, and more long-term investment in communities. 

This doesn’t happen by chance – this is achieved by working together. 

In the 1960s, few could have imagined the Pilbara’s potential. Those who did helped make WA’s mining industry the powerhouse it is today. 

Now it’s our turn. 

The world is moving quickly and conditions are changing. Competition for capital, skills and investment is unrelenting. Short-term success is common. Enduring success is rare. 

We cannot take our prosperity for granted. 

That’s where the national conversation needs to shift. Too often we focus how we divide what we have, rather than how we grow it.  

Growing means improving productivity and boosting investment so benefits continue to flow for future generations.  

We think this is worth an open conversation. We don’t assume we have all the answers, but we have a stake in getting this right. 

In our view, getting it right means stable and progressive policy – taxation settings that encourage investment and are competitive globally; industrial relations policies that support productivity; and regulation that is efficient while maintaining high standards. 

Industry must hold up its end too – investing in people, local communities and local businesses, and developing technologies and capabilities that drive productivity and support wage growth and further investment. 

We must also protect what Australians value – our cultural heritage, biodiversity and environment. We’ll rightly be judged by our actions, not just our words.  

Our 60-year milestone offers a chance to reflect on the past, but also to look forward to the future – and we’re optimistic.  

The Pilbara can remain the powerhouse of the global steel industry and Australia’s economy, and be safer, cleaner, more productive and more technologically advanced. 

But as history shows, this won’t happen by chance. 

Just as generations before us showed, it will require ambition, determination, hard work and close partnership – across industry, community and government. 

Our opportunity is to leave an even stronger legacy for the generations that follow. 

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