BASE METALS

Rio Tinto wake-up call

Rio Tinto has long lorded it over the rest of the industry when it comes to operational capability and technical nous. But it has just had a wake up call that it too is a mere mortal after fumbling the ball on two fronts - its Pilbara money making iron ore machine, and its flagship Oyu Tolgoi copper growth project in Mongolia.

Barry FitzGerald*
Rio Tinto CEO J-S Jacques underground at Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia

Rio Tinto CEO J-S Jacques underground at Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia

In the Pilbara, unit costs for 2019 have been increased by US$1 a tonne to $14-$15/t. It doesn't sound like much but spread it over annual shipments of 320-330 million tonnes (down on cyclone impacts and...

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