Impacts on health and livelihoods Rio Tinto operated the Panguna mine in Papua New Guinea, one of the world’s largest open-pit copper and gold mines, between 1972 and 1989. The mine discharged over a billion tonnes of mine waste into local river systems, causing profound environmental devastation and adversely affecting the health and livelihoods of nearby communities. In 1989, a local uprising forced the mine’s closure and triggered a brutal decade-long civil war, resulting in an estimated 20,000 deaths. In 2016, Rio Tinto divested from the mine without contributing to clean-up or rehabilitation. In 2020, the Human Rights Law Centre filed a complaint with the Australian OECD National Contact Point (NCP), alleging that Rio Tinto failed to address the impacts of the mine. The complaint has been accepted and is currently under review. 

Rio Tinto also owns 80% of the QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM) project in Madagascar, operating an ilmenite mine since 2009. Ilmenite extraction generates toxic wastewater that is rich in uranium and lead. Research by the Andrew Lees Trust (ALT) UK in 2019 found that water sites near the mine recorded uranium and lead levels 52 and 40 times above the World Health Organisation’s safe drinking water guidelines. Approximately 15,000 people living near the sites rely on these water sources for drinking, fishing, agriculture, and domestic use. Publish What You Pay Madagascar produced a report on the impacts of the mining project on local communities, citing adverse impacts on living conditions, livelihoods, and access to food and water.

Conflict with communities, coercion, and intimidation In 2022, thousands of protesters took to the streets for over a month in Madagascar following the failure of a tailing dam at Rio Tinto’s QMM mine, which released 264 million gallons of toxic wastewater into local streams. Protesters were met with violence, and many activists were injured or arrested. In response, Rio Tinto launched a conflict resolution process, which communities alleged was mired in human rights violations, including intimidation and coercion.

Similarly, Rio Tinto’s only South African operation, Richards Bay Minerals, had to suspend its Zulti South project in 2021 due to security concerns and conflict with communities. Local communities had been protesting the mine’s expansion, to which police responded violently.

Impacts on cultural heritage sites and Indigenous rights In 2020, Rio Tinto blasted the Juukan Gorge caves in Western Australia to facilitate the expansion of an iron ore mine. This destroyed a 46,000 year-old archaeological site  that contained sacred artefacts and was of great cultural significance to local Aboriginal populations. The site's traditional owners, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Aboriginal Peoples, were devastated by the irreversible act, drawing global condemnation from the public, media, and Rio Tinto’s own investors.

Despite the public backlash and Rio Tinto’s apology for the "distress" caused by the destruction of Juukan Gorge, the company continues to plan mines that threaten cultural heritage sites. One example is the Resolution Copper Mine project in Arizona, USA, which Rio Tinto seeks to develop in cooperation with BHP. If approved, the mining project would result in the destruction of numerous cultural heritage sites that local Apache communities have been fighting to safeguard for years. 

Land acquisition and community displacement Concerns have arisen in various projects, such as the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, where communities were reportedly displaced for project infrastructure without proper consultation. Similarly, the Jadar lithium mine in Serbia poses risks of eviction for hundreds of farmers and threatens the livelihoods of approximately 19,000 valley residents. The QMM mine in Madagascar has seen communities forcibly evicted, leading to further displacement and livelihood disruptions.

Coal lobbying and missed decarbonisation targets In August 2018, Rio Tinto sold its final coal assets, marking its exit from coal mining. However, the company remained a member of the Queensland Resources Council (QRC), a state mining lobby group that advocates for coal expansion policies. In 2022, the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) criticised Rio Tinto for failing to deliver on its 2021 commitment to suspend support for industry associations that engage in pro-coal advocacy and promote policies that are inconsistent with the Paris Agreement. Following public controversy, in 2022, Rio Tinto did not renew its membership with QRC, three years after its “exit” from coal.  

In 2021, Rio Tinto set targets to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 15% by 2025 and 50% by 2030. However, in July 2023 the company admitted it will not meet its 2025 decarbonisation goal without purchasing carbon offsets. For example, in 2022, Rio Tinto still emitted approximately 30.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from scope 1 and 2 sources, only a 7% decrease from its 2018 baseline of 32.6 million metric tonnes. The majority of these emissions come from the processing of metals, which requires high temperatures and is often powered by coal. 

Failure to address scope 3 emissions Despite setting targets to tackle scope 1 and 2 emissions, Rio Tinto has failed to address its largest source of carbon output ­– scope 3 emissions. In 2021, the company’s scope 3 emissions were over 550 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide, exceeding Australia’s annual national emissions. This increased to 584 million metric tonnes in 2022, making up over 1% of total global emissions. The majority of these emissions are generated from the smelting process used to convert iron ore into steel through operations in China, Japan, and South Korea. The company has evaded responsibility for these impacts and is reluctant to fully address its carbon footprint. This has drawn criticism from investors, who claim that the company has failed to disclose how it plans to transition to a zero-carbon economy and align with the Paris Agreement.  

Carbon emissions from mining projects in Guinea The Simandou iron ore mine has the potential to generate significant carbon emissions, including during land and forest clearing, drilling, blasting, hauling, and processing. An environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) carried out by the Winning Consortium Simandou, one of the project developers, estimates that the mining blocks alone could emit up to 19 million tonnes of carbon emissions over the mine’s 22-year lifespan. This is equal to about 41% of Guinea’s total emissions in 2020 and is equivalent to burning 10 million tonnes of coal. 

Furthermore, the reliance on a Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) power plant to fuel mining operations is a major source of carbon emissions and other toxic by-products. The railway that will connect the Simandou mine with the coastal port will utilise diesel-fueled locomotives, which emit high levels of nitrogen dioxide, a compound that is 240 times more destructive to the ozone layer than carbon dioxide. Additionally, deforestation and land clearing associated with the Simandou project could release up to 271,300 tonnes of carbon dioxide, which, according to an analysis by Human Rights Watch, is equivalent to burning about 136,000 tonnes of coal.

Deforestation and impacts on wildlife and protected nature areas in Guinea The region where the Simandou iron ore project is located has already experienced high rates of deforestation, which has had a severe impact on biodiversity. The planned construction of a 650-km railway for this project cuts through extensive tracts of primary forest, which is a natural habitat for critically endangered species such as the Western Chimpanzee, the African Forest Elephant, and the Western Red Colobus monkey. Furthermore, the project puts at risk protected areas such as the Haut Niger National Park, one of the last remnants of dry forest in Guinea, and the Outumba-Kilimi-Kuru Hills-Pinselli-Soya Transboundary Priority Landscape, which includes essential migration corridors for wildlife.

Driving ecological destruction in Serbia Rio Tinto’s proposed Jadar lithium mine threatens a fertile river valley which is home to 15,000 agricultural households. The area boasts every form of agriculture, from wheat and corn production to raspberries and plums, honey, and dairy farming. This productive agricultural land would be at risk of pollution and destruction if plans to develop the mine go ahead. Furthermore, there are considerable risks of water pollution and contamination associated with this project, which would endanger drinking water supply sources in the whole of Serbia.

Pollution of lakes and rivers in Madagascar and Papua New Guinea Rio Tinto’s mine operations have often caused pollution and irreversible damage to local water sources. Rio Tinto’s Panguna mining operations resulted in the poisoning of rivers with toxic waste. Similarly, the Rio Tinto-owned QMM mine contaminated pristine Malagasy lakes and rivers with radioactive substances, resulting in fish turning up dead in local waters.

The emergence of new infectious diseases The destruction of nature, particularly through large-scale mining like Rio Tinto’s projects, poses a significant threat to global public health. Several studies suggest that large-scale industrial development projects can increase the risk of zoonotic disease transmission, which can lead to pandemics. Exploiting natural habitats not only leads to biodiversity loss but also disrupts delicate ecosystems, creating conditions conducive to the spillover of infectious diseases from animals to humans. 

For example, the railway associated with the Simandou project will cut across extensive tracts of primary rainforest, potentially disrupting ecosystems and increasing the risk of pandemics. The same area was the epicentre of the West Africa Ebola outbreak, which killed over 11,000 people between 2013-2016.

Workplace sexual harassment, bullying and racism In 2022, Rio Tinto released a report on workplace culture based on surveys being conducted by an independent commissioner. The findings demonstrated that of the 10,000 participants, almost half reported instances of workplace bullying, sexual harassment, LBGTQ+ discrimination, or racism – with 21 women reporting a rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault in the past five years. Additionally, respondents spoke of a ‘culture of silence’ that keeps reports of these incidents low and perpetuates cycles of harassment.  

Corruption and fraud allegations In 2017, the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) launched an investigation on Rio Tinto based on allegations of corruption in its mining operations in Guinea. As of August 2023, the SFO has dropped the investigation after an internal review concluded that it was not in the public interest to continue. 

In October 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil lawsuit against Rio Tinto based on allegations of fraud. The Group, its former chief executive, and its former chief financial officer were accused of deceiving investors about the value of a coal mine in Mozambique – the Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique (RTCM). In November 2023, Rio Tinto settled the lawsuit for $28 million USD but did not admit to any wrongdoing. Rio Tinto’s former chief executive also settled for $50,000 USD and the company’s former chief financial officer remains a defendant. 

Other Rio Tinto's business practices have prompted investors like the Government Pension Fund of Norway, NORGES bank, Birch Caring Capital, and the KLP to exclude Rio Tinto from their investment portfolios. Other investors like ATP, Ethias, Ethos, Cardano Group, KPA, Storebrand, Folksam, and VGZ, have also excluded Rio Tinto from their portfolios due to environmental and social concerns.