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Released October 21, 2021 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Mining giant Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) (London, England) says it will invest $7.5 billion to halve its carbon emissions by 2030. Industrial Info is tracking $15.5 billion in projects belonging to Rio Tinto worldwide that have a high (81-99%) or medium (70-80%) probability of moving forward as planned.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed project reports.
Click on the image at right for a graph detailing Rio Tinto's global projects, by world region.
To meet the additional demand created by the global push for net-zero emissions, Rio Tinto will prioritize growth capital in commodities vital for this transition, and seeks to double its growth capital spending to about $3 billion a year beginning in 2023, according to a press release. "We have a clear pathway to decarbonize our business and are actively developing technologies that will enable our customers and our customers' customers to decarbonize," Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said in a Wednesday press release.
Rio Tinto seeks to reduce its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions (direct emissions and those associated with the purchase of electricity, steam and heat) with the new investment, which will begin in 2022, according to the press release. The company's focus will be on providing renewable electricity for its iron ore production in Australia--particularly at the Pilbara operation--as well as aluminum smelters in the country. The resulting direct capital expenditures (capex) would amount to $500 million per year from 2022 to 2024.
Decarbonizing the Pilbara operation will include the deployment of 1 gigawatt (GW) of wind and solar power to replace natural gas power for the plant and infrastructure. Total electrification of the system, including trucks, mining equipment and rail operations, will require more renewable power and advances in fleet technologies, according to the company.
Construction of the mining firm's first solar power plant is underway: a 34-megawatt solar and battery farm addition at its Gudai-Darri Iron Ore Mine & Processing Plant in Western Australia will utilize about 100,000 photovoltaic panels to supply the mine's electricity demand during peak times of solar power generation, and about 65% of the average demand. Completion is expected in March 2022. NRW Holdings Limited (Perth, Australia) will provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services. Subscribers can click here for a detailed project report.
The company also hopes to decarbonize its aluminum business, and is exploring utilizing renewable energy--an estimated 5 GW of solar and wind power--to power its Boyne Island and Tomago aluminum smelters in Australia. In addition, a joint venture between Rio Tinto and Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)--Elysis (Montreal, Quebec)--is developing an aluminum-making process that eliminates direct greenhouse-gas emissions from the smelting process and instead produces oxygen.
Elysis is building an inert anode technology unit at its Alma aluminum smelter in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, which involves placing inert anode prototype cells at the end of an existing potline, in order to demonstrate the technology's commercial possibilities. Construction kicked off in June, with completion expected in January 2024. Subscribers can click here for a detailed project report.
The company's push for decarbonization represents a growing trend the Metals & Minerals Industry. For more information, see October 15, 2021, article - Rio Tinto Targets Using Biomass in Steelmaking Process, October 14, 2021, article - Cement and Concrete Manufacturers Vow to Accelerate Reduction of Carbon Emissions, October 11, 2021, article - Metals & Minerals Industry Tests Power-to-Hydrogen Solution for Decarbonization, and August 16, 2021, article - Energy Transition Drives Mining Project Activity.
The miner's overall capex guidance of about $7.5 billion in 2021 is unchanged, and the spend is expected to gradually increase, to about $8 billion in 2022, and between $9 billion and $10 billion in 2023 and 2024. This includes $3.5 billion a year in sustaining capital, of which $1.5 billion per year is for the Pilbara operation.
Third-quarter shipments of iron ore from the Pilbara operation totaled 83.4 million tons, up 2% year-over-year and 9% from the second quarter; production amounted to 83.3 million tons, up 10% from the prior quarter, but down 4% year-over year.
Rio Tinto's highest-valued project is a $5.3 billion underground mine addition at its Oyu Tologi Gold-Copper Mine Complex in Mongolia, which is being jointly developed by the Mongolian government and Rio Tinto subsidiary Turquoise Hill Resources (NYSE:TRQ). The project includes building five vertical mining shafts to expand the capacity to 430,000 tons per year of copper and 495,000 ounces per year of gold. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed project reports.
Click on the image at right for a graph detailing Rio Tinto's global projects, by world region.To meet the additional demand created by the global push for net-zero emissions, Rio Tinto will prioritize growth capital in commodities vital for this transition, and seeks to double its growth capital spending to about $3 billion a year beginning in 2023, according to a press release. "We have a clear pathway to decarbonize our business and are actively developing technologies that will enable our customers and our customers' customers to decarbonize," Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said in a Wednesday press release.
Rio Tinto seeks to reduce its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions (direct emissions and those associated with the purchase of electricity, steam and heat) with the new investment, which will begin in 2022, according to the press release. The company's focus will be on providing renewable electricity for its iron ore production in Australia--particularly at the Pilbara operation--as well as aluminum smelters in the country. The resulting direct capital expenditures (capex) would amount to $500 million per year from 2022 to 2024.
Decarbonizing the Pilbara operation will include the deployment of 1 gigawatt (GW) of wind and solar power to replace natural gas power for the plant and infrastructure. Total electrification of the system, including trucks, mining equipment and rail operations, will require more renewable power and advances in fleet technologies, according to the company.
Construction of the mining firm's first solar power plant is underway: a 34-megawatt solar and battery farm addition at its Gudai-Darri Iron Ore Mine & Processing Plant in Western Australia will utilize about 100,000 photovoltaic panels to supply the mine's electricity demand during peak times of solar power generation, and about 65% of the average demand. Completion is expected in March 2022. NRW Holdings Limited (Perth, Australia) will provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services. Subscribers can click here for a detailed project report.
The company also hopes to decarbonize its aluminum business, and is exploring utilizing renewable energy--an estimated 5 GW of solar and wind power--to power its Boyne Island and Tomago aluminum smelters in Australia. In addition, a joint venture between Rio Tinto and Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)--Elysis (Montreal, Quebec)--is developing an aluminum-making process that eliminates direct greenhouse-gas emissions from the smelting process and instead produces oxygen.
Elysis is building an inert anode technology unit at its Alma aluminum smelter in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, which involves placing inert anode prototype cells at the end of an existing potline, in order to demonstrate the technology's commercial possibilities. Construction kicked off in June, with completion expected in January 2024. Subscribers can click here for a detailed project report.
The company's push for decarbonization represents a growing trend the Metals & Minerals Industry. For more information, see October 15, 2021, article - Rio Tinto Targets Using Biomass in Steelmaking Process, October 14, 2021, article - Cement and Concrete Manufacturers Vow to Accelerate Reduction of Carbon Emissions, October 11, 2021, article - Metals & Minerals Industry Tests Power-to-Hydrogen Solution for Decarbonization, and August 16, 2021, article - Energy Transition Drives Mining Project Activity.
The miner's overall capex guidance of about $7.5 billion in 2021 is unchanged, and the spend is expected to gradually increase, to about $8 billion in 2022, and between $9 billion and $10 billion in 2023 and 2024. This includes $3.5 billion a year in sustaining capital, of which $1.5 billion per year is for the Pilbara operation.
Third-quarter shipments of iron ore from the Pilbara operation totaled 83.4 million tons, up 2% year-over-year and 9% from the second quarter; production amounted to 83.3 million tons, up 10% from the prior quarter, but down 4% year-over year.
Rio Tinto's highest-valued project is a $5.3 billion underground mine addition at its Oyu Tologi Gold-Copper Mine Complex in Mongolia, which is being jointly developed by the Mongolian government and Rio Tinto subsidiary Turquoise Hill Resources (NYSE:TRQ). The project includes building five vertical mining shafts to expand the capacity to 430,000 tons per year of copper and 495,000 ounces per year of gold. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
