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
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 STARTâ„¢ initiative tracks traceability and responsible production of ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úmaterials.
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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Driving generational growth in the Pilbara
Our plan to invest in Western Australia’s long-term iron ore legacy
Giving materials a second life
How we keep materials in circulation, from extraction to reuse
Driving toward lower emissions
Haul truck battery swapping technology trials are ramping up at Oyu Tolgoi
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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 ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úfrom the inside
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Exploration is the first step in creating long-term value
Meet Meryl, our Head of Commercial for Exploration. She has 40 years of experience across geology, operations, strategy and business development. Her career began in the field as a geologist and has taken her across almost every stage of the mining value chain. Today, she helps assess where we should invest in exploration activities, balancing geological potential with commercial reality.
“40 years is a long time to do anything. To last that long, you have to really love what you’re doing,” Meryl said. “For me, the resources industry is ‘it’. I know instinctively that I am a miner – no doubt about that at all. “And it started with rocks. “As students, we went into the field and were taught to map. Sure, you look at rocks – but it’s the interpretation that you get from those observations that starts to tell the story. The rocks will tell you, if you look hard enough and you observe, what’s happened to them. “That’s what hooked me, the ability to take observations and produce an understanding of what had happened to those rocks over geological time. You get to the end of your fieldwork and you’ve got this incredible map that captures exactly what’s going on – the rock types, the structures, the faults, the shear zones, how they all relate to each other, and where mineralisation may have concentrated. “Rocks speak. They really do. “And over time, it’s become very clear to me that if the rocks don’t work, the rest won’t work. “If the rocks don’t have the right characteristics for mineralisation to move through them and deposit somewhere economic, if they’re too difficult to mine safely, too hard to process, too abrasive, too complex metallurgically – then the rest of the value chain becomes incredibly challenging. “You’ve got to work out the story of the rocks at the beginning, and everything else comes after that. “Geology and geoscience are the fundamental backbone of our entire industry.”
“Exploration is integral to the future success of the industry. Without discoveries, there will be no future mines,” she said. “Geoscientists are the people who do the first rounds of work. They review the data, they get boots on the ground, they make observations and determine whether the rocks have the potential to host the metals and minerals we’re after. “At Rio Tinto, we’ve built up more than 70 years of geological knowledge and data from across continents through our exploration teams. “But exploration is also about understanding value over the long term. “Just because something is a ‘no’ now doesn’t mean it will always be a ‘no’ in the future. Commodity prices, technology, mining methods and processing routes change. So, part of our role when we assess a discovery is not only understanding and documenting what risks exist today, but also what would need to change so an opportunity could become economic later on. “Our exploration teams keep a pipeline of opportunities active all the time, from grassroots greenfields work to advanced projects. At every stage, projects are assessed and ranked against each other to make sure our investment is focused on the opportunities with the greatest chance of success. “That’s really the balancing act – cost versus opportunity, risk versus reward, today’s priorities versus tomorrow’s possibilities. “Exploration is a long-term game. Typically, there’s 10 to 15 years between an initial discovery and a decision to mine. So, what we’re doing now is helping shape what ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úcould look like many decades from now.”
“The way the industry thinks about value is evolving as well,” she said. “Many countries now maintain lists of critical minerals that are important for the energy transition, defence and new technologies. Some of those minerals occur independently, but many occur alongside other commodities. “So, when we’re exploring for something like copper, we’re also thinking about what else may be present in the rocks and whether those additional elements could ultimately be recoverable. “When we collect samples, we test for around 45 different elements. We do that because many of the metals we’re chasing have associated pathfinder elements – elements or gases that are associated with a target mineral deposit – and some of those are critical minerals. Even if the primary commodity doesn’t immediately stand out, there may be another element elevated in the data that tells you you’re in the right place and need to keep going. “That broader thinking becomes really important as projects advance. “One of the greatest opportunities we have as an industry is to evaluate what by-products could potentially be going to waste dumps or tailings facilities and ask whether they could be recovered for value instead. “Kennecott is a really good example of that. Through a relatively small additional processing circuit, the operation has been able to recover tellurium from copper slimes at Bingham Canyon. That’s a critical mineral recovered from material already moving through the process stream. “I think we’ll see more of that kind of thinking into the future – how do we maximise value from the rocks we’re already mining? How do we recover more of what’s there? And how do we think differently about waste? “That’s where exploration, commercial thinking, processing and sustainability all come together. “From the very beginning, exploration is thinking about the broader commodity mix, the future potential of the rocks and how we maximise value across the whole value chain. “Because ultimately, the rocks still tell the story. “We just need to keep listening.”