Rio Tinto Group is an Anglo-Australian multinational company
that is the world's second-largest metals and mining corporation (behind
BHP).[5][6] The company was founded in 1873 when of a group of investors
purchased a mine
Rio Tinto Group is an Anglo-Australian multinational company
that is the world's second-largest metals and mining corporation (behind
BHP).[5][6] The company was founded in 1873 when of a group of investors
purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto, in Huelva, Spain, from the Spanish
government. Since then the company has grown through a long series of mergers
and acquisitions, and has placed itself among the world leaders in the
production of many commodities, including aluminum, iron ore, copper, uranium and
diamonds.[7] Although primarily focused on extraction of minerals, Rio Tinto
also has significant operations in refining, particularly the refining of
bauxite and iron ore.[8] Rio Tinto has joint head offices in London (global and
"plc") and Melbourne ("Limited" – Australia).[9][10]
Rio Tinto is a dual-listed company traded on both the London
Stock Exchange, where it is a component of the FTSE 100 Index,[11] and the
Australian Securities Exchange, where it is a component of the S&P/ASX 200
index.[12] Additionally, American Depositary Shares of Rio Tinto's British
branch are traded on the New York Stock Exchange,[3][13] giving it listings on
a total of three major stock exchanges. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, Rio
Tinto was ranked as the 114th-largest public company in the world.[14]
In May 2020, to expand the Brockman 4 mine, Rio Tinto
demolished a sacred cave in Juukan Gorge, Western Australia, which had evidence
of 46,000 years of continual human occupation, and was considered the only
inland site in Australia to show signs of continual human occupation through
the last Ice Age. Rio Tinto later apologised for the distress caused and CEO
Jean-Sébastien Jacques subsequently stepped down.[15]
Rio Tinto has been widely criticised by environmental groups
as well as the government of Norway for the environmental impacts of its mining
activities: claims of severe environmental damages related to Rio Tinto's
engagement in the Grasberg mine in Indonesia led the Government Pension Fund of
Norway to exclude Rio Tinto from its investment portfolio.[16]
Academic observers have also expressed concern regarding Rio
Tinto's operations in Papua New Guinea, which they allege were one catalyst of
the Bougainville separatist crisis.[17] There have also been concerns over
corruption: in July 2017 the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced the launch of
a fraud and corruption investigation into the company's business practices in
Guinea.[18]