Rio Tinto in North America (PDF 957 KB

Rio Tinto
in North America
Rio Tinto is a global leader in locating, mining and processing
the earth's mineral resources. North America is a key region
in the Group's worldwide portfolio of businesses with
approximately 30 percent of its assets located here. Rio Tinto's
North American operations produce borates, coal, copper,
diamonds, iron ore, gold, molybdenum, silver, talc, titanium
dioxide and zinc to help meet global needs and contribute to
higher living standards.

Rio Tinto has made a
strategic commitment to
sustainable development
in the belief that acting
responsibly will result
in long term business
benefits such as lowering
risks, reducing costs,
creating options, and
leveraging reputation.
Drilling at the Resolution Copper project in Arizona.
Front cover photo: Kennecott Utah Copper's smelter is one of the cleanest in the world,
capturing approximately 99.9 percent of the sulfur dioxide generated during smelting.
1 Rio Tinto in North America
The Rio Tinto Group comprises
30 businesses in more than 20 countries,
with approximately 30 percent of
its assets in the US and Canada.
The Group's operations in Australia
comprise generally 56 percent of its
assets with the remainder of its holdings
located in Africa, Indonesia, South
America and Europe.
Rio Tinto takes a long term and
responsible approach to the Group's
business. It concentrates on the
development of first class orebodies into
large, long life and efficient operations
capable of sustaining competitive
advantage through business cycles.
The Group's worldwide operations
supply essential minerals and metals
that help meet global needs and
contribute to improvements in living
standards. Major products include
aluminum, copper, diamonds, energy
products (coal and uranium), gold,
industrial minerals (borates, titanium
dioxide, salt, talc), and iron ore.
Wherever Rio Tinto operates, health
and safety are the first priorities.
The Group seeks to contribute to
sustainable development. It works as
closely as possible with host countries
and communities, employing local
people at all levels. Local laws and
customs are respected and businesses
ensure fair and equitable benefits
and enhancement of opportunities.
North American businesses
In the US, Rio Tinto’s primary
businesses include: Rio Tinto Energy
America, Kennecott Exploration
Company, Kennecott Land Company,
Kennecott Minerals Company,
Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation,
and Rio Tinto Minerals. Additionally,
the Group operates the Resolution
Copper project in Arizona (55 percent
ownership interest). Rio Tinto also
maintains an expert technical support
staff, as well as Group procurement
and other support services in the US.
Rio Tinto employs more than 5,600
people in the US.
In the Canadian provinces and Territories,
Rio Tinto employs approximately
4,000 people. The company owns
Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium, which is
operated through QIT-Fer et Titane Inc.
Rio Tinto also owns a 59 percent interest
in IOC and a 60 percent share of the
Diavik Diamond Mine, both of which it
also operates.

In the US
Rio Tinto Energy America
Rio Tinto Energy America (RTEA) is
one of the largest producers of low
sulfur, subbituminous coal in the Powder
River Basin. It also is one of the safest
and most efficient energy producers in
the world. With a combined work force
of more than 2000 employees, and with
the assistance of hundreds of contractors
and suppliers, the company provides
fuel to generate nearly six percent of
the nation's electricity. The company
oversees the operations of five surface
coal mines, in Wyoming (Cordero Rojo,
Jacobs Ranch and Antelope mines),
Montana (Spring Creek Mine), and
Colorado (Colowyo Mine). All of the
RTEA mines operate under an ISO
14001:2004 registered environmental
management system. RTEA is a
non managing partner of Montana's
Decker Mine. The company’s coal
reserves total more than 1.5 billion
short tons per annum with an annual
production of nearly 130 million
short tons.
www.rtea.com
Kennecott Exploration Company
Kennecott Exploration Company is
based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and
manages Rio Tinto's exploration
activities for the US, Canada and
Mexico. Its focus is on exploring a wide
range of commodities including copper,
gold, nickel, diamonds and energy
resources. Kennecott Exploration has
obtained its ISO 14001:2004
registration certificate.
www.kennecottexploration.com
Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation
Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation
(KUCC) operates the Bingham Canyon
Mine, Copperton Concentrator, Smelter
and Refinery in Salt Lake County, Utah.
KUCC, which celebrated its centennial
in 2003, supplies more than ten percent
of annual US copper requirements and
accounts for approximately 17 percent
of US copper production. Its Bingham
Canyon Mine has produced more copper
than any mine in the world – more than
17 million short tons. KUCC also
produces molybdenum, gold, silver and
sulfuric acid. KUCC has undertaken a
proactive and cooperative environmental
cleanup of historic mining contamination
and has achieved ISO 14001:2004
registration for its environmental
management system.
www.kennecott.com
A dragline operation removes dirt and overburden to
expose a 60 foot deep coal seam in Wyoming’s
Powder River Basin. More than one third of the US’
annual coal production comes from the Powder
River Basin.
Kennecott Land Company
Kennecott Land was established in April
2001 to focus on protecting and developing
Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation's
non mining land and water assets. Its
mission is to build enduring communities
on Salt Lake Valley's West Bench.
Daybreak is the first testament to that
vision. Situated on 4,126 acres in the
city of South Jordan, Daybreak will
include more than 13,600 residential
homes and 9.1 million square feet of
commercial space. Entire villages have
been planned where people can live,
work, play and learn in a community
unlike any other in Utah.
www.kennecottland.com
This model depicts all seven phases of Kennecott Land's
Daybreak Development. The development includes a 100 acre
lake surrounded by wetlands, walking paths, a restaurant, and
even a beach club.
Rio Tinto in North America 2

The Resolution project
is in the historic
Pioneer Mining District
just three miles east
of Superior, Arizona.
3 Rio Tinto in North America
Kennecott Minerals Company
Kennecott Minerals (KMC) produces
gold, silver, zinc, copper and other base
metals from wholly owned and joint
venture operations in the US.
Kennecott Minerals manages the
Kennecott Greens Creek Mine
(70.3 percent ownership) in Alaska,
which produces silver, zinc, gold
and lead. The Cortez Gold Mines
operation in Nevada is 40 percent
owned by Kennecott Minerals.
Kennecott Minerals is in the process
of permitting the Eagle project,
an underground nickel/copper mine
in northern Michigan.
Kennecott Minerals has successfully
closed and reclaimed several mining
operations and is in the process of
rehabilitating another in Nevada. Both
the Flambeau Mine in Wisconsin and the
Ridgeway Mine in South Carolina have
achieved closure with ongoing benefits
to the local communities
The Flambeau Mine located near Ladysmith, Wisconsin, produced over more than 1.8 million short tons of copper and gold ore during
operations from 1991 to 1996. Final reclamation and seeding was completed by 1999. The reclaimed mine site includes a system of
hiking and recreational trails, prairie and woodland habitat and more than ten acres of wetlands.
Upper left: 1991 – before mining. Lower left: 1996 – during mining. Right: 2005 – after closure and reclamation.
Both facilities have received the US
Department of Interior Reclamation and
Sustainable Minerals Development
Award (2003 and 2005, respectively).
Mining at the Rawhide Mine (51 percent
ownership) in Nevada ceased in 2003,
and reclamation at the mine is partially
completed. A sustainable development
plan to utilize the open pits as a landfill
for community benefit is progressing.
All KMC operations are
ISO 14001:2004 registered.
www.kennecottminerals.com
Resolution Copper Company
The Resolution project is in the historic
Pioneer Mining District just three miles
east of Superior, Arizona. Exploration
conducted from 2001 to 2003 indicates a
large copper orebody more than 7,000
feet below the surface. If developed, the
project will be an underground mine that
will have positive environmental impacts
through programs including a voluntary
cleanup initiative and ISO 14001:2004
registration. The project is under
evaluation and if feasibility studies are
successful, production would likely begin
in the next decade.
www.resolutioncopper.com

Rio Tinto Minerals
Rio Tinto Minerals is a world leader in
industrial minerals supply and science.
The organization supplies nearly half the
world's refined borates, 25 percent of the
world's talc demand and is the world's
largest exporter of salt. The global
business employs more than 3,000
people, half of whom live and work in
North America. Rio Tinto Minerals'
products – marketed under heritage
brands that have been built over more
than a century – include Dampier Salt in
Australia and:
• 20 Mule Team Borax borates – borates
are essential nutrients for plants, part
of a healthy diet for people and key
ingredients in fiberglass, glass,
ceramics, fertilizers and wood
preservatives.
• Luzenac talcs – talcs enhance
performance in countless applications
including paper, paints, plastics,
ceramics, personal care products,
agriculture and pharmaceuticals.
Rio Tinto Minerals – Boron Operations has a
product storage capacity of more than 88,000
tons. The company mines ore at a rate of about
three million tons, and produces about one million
tons of refined borates every year.
Rio Tinto Minerals' global operating
headquarters are located in Denver,
Colorado. Its primary borate mine is
located in California's Mojave Desert,
and the company operates talc mines in
Montana, Vermont and Ontario, Canada.
Rio Tinto Minerals also operates a
shipping and borate refining facility in
the Port of Los Angeles; talc processing
facilities in Montana, Texas and Canada;
and, a trona mine in California.
Other borate, salt and talc facilities
are located in Asia, Australia, Europe
and South America.
Forbes, grass and shrub seeds such as these
are used for reclamation at the Colowyo mine
in Colorado.
Rio Tinto Minerals' people include
acknowledged world leaders in
developing new technology, markets and
applications for industrial minerals, and
in creating products and practices that
contribute to sustainable development.
The company's quality management
systems are ISO 9001:2000 registered,
and it maintains external verification of
its environmental management systems
through ISO 14001:2004 registration.
www.riotintominerals.com
At Rio Tinto Minerals – Three Forks Operation
in Montana, silos store various grades of talc
before being blended to customer specifications.
Rio Tinto in North America 4

In Canada, Rio Tinto
owns a 60 percent
interest in Diavik
Diamond Mines,
a 59 percent interest
in IOC, Canada’s
largest supplier of iron
ore, and Rio Tinto Iron
and Titanium, which is
operated through
QIT-Fer et Titane Inc.
In Canada
Diavik Diamond Mines Inc.
Rio Tinto holds a 60 percent interest in
the Diavik mine that is operated by
Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., based in
Yellowknife, Canada. After a highly
successful construction and
commissioning, the Diavik mine, located
on an island in a large sub-Arctic lake in
Canada's remote north, began
production in January 2003. Diavik was
instrumental in making Canada the
world's third largest diamond producer
by value. Diavik's mine plan includes
open pit and underground mining of
three kimberlite ore bodies located
under shallow waters of Lac de Gras.
Retention structures, or dikes, safely
hold back lake waters to allow mining.
The first dike was completed in 2002
and construction of the second dike
began in spring 2005. Diavik's reserves
are 29.8 metric tonnes at 3.2 carats
per tonne (December 2004) with total
mine life estimated at 16 to 22 years.
An aerial view of the Diavik mine in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Diamond production
started in 2003. Access to the mine is by air and a unique seasonal ice road over which all fuel,
explosives, and bulk commodities are transported during its annual two month winter life.
5 Rio Tinto in North America
Diavik has built strong local community
partnerships in the areas of social
economics and environmental
stewardship, and formalized these
commitments in a suite of agreements.
Rio Tinto's 60 percent share of rough
diamonds is marketed exclusively
through Rio Tinto Diamonds of Antwerp.
IOC
Rio Tinto owns a 59 percent interest in
the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC),
which has been Canada's premier
supplier of iron ore for five decades. IOC
began mining operations in 1952 and
has more than 20 years of reserves at
current production levels. IOC, which
sells its products into North America,
Europe and Asia, operates a surface
mine, concentrator and iron ore pellet
making plant at Labrador City in
Newfoundland and Labrador province.
IOC also operates a 420 kilometer
railway that links the mine to the port
facilities at Sept-Iles, in Quebec province
on the north shore of the St Lawrence
River Gulf. IOC operations are ISO
14001:2004 registered.
www.ironore.ca

QIT-Fer et Titane Inc.,
Sorel-Tracy and Havre-Saint-
Pierre, Quebec, Canada
Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium, part of
Rio Tinto's Industrial Minerals group,
operates in North America through
QIT-Fer et Titane Inc. Founded over
50 years ago, QIT plays a leading role
in Canada's mining and metallurgy
industry. Located on the shores of the
St Lawrence River, QIT operates the
largest solid ilmenite deposit in the
world, at Lake Tio, 43 kilometers from
Havre-Saint-Pierre in the Province
of Quebec. Approximately 800
kilometers upriver, the company
operates a metallurgical complex at
Sorel-Tracy, near Montreal, where it
converts ore into titanium dioxide
feedstock for the pigment iron and steel
industry, as well as iron and steel
powders for the automotive industry.
Titanium pigment is a whitening and
opacity agent used mainly in the
production of paper, plastics fabrics
and rubber.
www.qit.com
Port at Sept-Iles, on the Gulf of the St Lawrence River
in Canada. Stock piles of iron ore pellets lie behind
the ship, which is being loaded. This operation is
run by IOC.
North American
supporting services
The Rio Tinto operational and technical
excellence group for North and South
America is based in Salt Lake City, Utah
and provides technical and scientific
expertise to Rio Tinto's operations
worldwide.
The North American Rio Tinto
Procurement services group also is
based in Salt Lake City, Utah.
It concentrates on Group procurement
activities for Rio Tinto's Western
Hemisphere operations.
Social and environmental
responsibility
Rio Tinto has made a strategic
commitment to sustainable development,
in the belief that acting responsibly will
result in long term business benefits
such as lowering risks, reducing costs,
creating options, and leveraging
reputation.
It is corporate policy that Group
businesses, projects, operations and
products should contribute constructively
to the global transition to sustainable
development.
In implementing the policy, our approach
is to develop common tools through a
sustainable development leadership
panel and to encourage different parts
of the Group to apply these tools and
the concept of sustainable development
within their specific social, environmental,
economic and governance circumstances,
and to implement the policy in a manner
that is consistent with local priorities in
the local context.
This approach has the advantage of
giving local meaning to the Group's
global sustainable development efforts
and accordingly is more likely to lead to
locally relevant and successful outcomes
at business unit level.
The QIT Sorel-Tracy metallurgical complex and port facilities, near Montreal, Quebec.
Rio Tinto in North America 6

Kennecott Minerals (70%)
RIo Tinto Minerals (talc) RTEA
Rio Tinto Energy
Kennecott Utah Copper
America (RTEA)
Kennecott Land Company
Kennecott Exploration
RTEA
Kennecott Minerals (40%)
Rio Tinto Minerals (borates)
For further information
please contact the Washington DC office:
Rio Tinto Services Inc.
Tel: 202 393 0266
Fax: 202 393 0232
www.riotinto.com
Kennecott Exploration
Diavik Diamonds (60%)
Resolution Copper (55%)
IOC (59%)
IOC (59%)
RIo Tinto Minerals (talc)
Kennecott Minerals
(Eagle)
QIT-Fer et Titane Sorel
RIo Tinto Minerals (talc)
Rio Tinto Minerals (talc)
Currency: All $ values refer to US dollars unless stated otherwise.
For convenience, the expression Rio Tinto is used to describe both Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited and companies within the Group,
even though these companies are generally separate and independently managed
Ownership: Where Rio Tinto is not the sole owner of a company, the percentage interest is shown.
© Rio Tinto 2006
QIT-Fer et Titane Lac Allard