Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a bailout on Friday to keep Australia's largest aluminum smelter, the troubled Tomago plant, which is majority-owned by Rio Tinto $RIO (-1,04%)
$RIO (+0,43%) to stay open after its current power contract expires in 2028.

The news comes after the company warned in October that Tomago Aluminum, employer of more than 1,000 full-time staff and 200 contractors, may be forced to close after failing to secure new, affordable sources of power.

Aluminum is "an increasingly important product," Albanese said, which is why it is important to keep Tomago open.

"If Australia doesn't produce aluminum, it has a significant impact on other industries," he said at the smelter north of Sydney in the state of New South Wales (NSW).

"We are working with the company and the New South Wales government to ensure there are long-term energy solutions for the period after 2028."

The contract, which has not yet been finalized, would include a long-term fixed-price energy supply for the smelter, the government said.

Tomago is the state's largest consumer of electricity and, like several other Australian smelters struggling with high energy prices during the transition to renewables, was built in the last century to take advantage of abundant supplies of cheap coal.

"This progress reflects years of collaboration between Tomago and its joint venture partners, including Rio Tinto, in tackling one of the most complex energy challenges facing Australian industry," said Simon Trott, managing director of Rio Tinto, in a statement welcoming the agreement.

Tomago will also provide at least A$1 billion ($666.6 million) in capital and major maintenance investment over the next ten years, including identifying decarbonization opportunities, the government said.

"We are very grateful to both the Federal Government and the New South Wales Government," Tomago Managing Director Jerome Dozol said in a statement, adding that the company was looking forward to working with the government.

The smelter is the latest to receive support from the government, which in recent months has pledged rescue packages for Glencore's Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville refinery, Trafigura's Nyrstar lead and zinc operations and Whyalla steelworks.

As part of the Tomago deal, the government will also offer concessional financing arrangements to accelerate the development of renewable energy generation and storage.

The government is still working on the total cost of the deal, Industry Minister Tim Ayres said.

The Australian Labor Union supported the deal, calling it a defining moment for the manufacturing industry.

Australia's first battery-powered Cat 793 XE Early Learner electric dump trucks have arrived at the Jimblebar iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, marking the start of large-scale testing of zero-emission heavy mining equipment.

The project is part of a unique collaboration between BHP$BHP (-1,36%)Rio Tinto $RIO (-1,04%)
$RIO (+0,43%) and Caterpillar $CAT (-3,04%) and aims to test the viability of electric drives as an alternative to diesel fuel in large iron ore mines.

Once the safe commissioning phase has been completed, the machines will be put into operation under real production conditions. As part of the tests, the companies will not only evaluate the technical characteristics of the dump trucks, but also the readiness of the associated infrastructure: charging systems, energy management, stability of the power supply and component supply logistics. The data obtained will form the basis for planning future mines with low greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the companies, the decarbonization of mining in Pilbara is only possible with technological breakthroughs and accelerated investment in research and development. For this reason, BHP and Rio Tinto are working with Caterpillar and the support of WesTrac to prepare their fleets for a large-scale transition as quickly as possible.

Based on the results of joint testing, each company will decide separately on the transition to extended testing and commercial implementation of the technology. The project is part of BHP and Rio Tinto's long-term strategy to achieve zero operational greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, making it one of the most important steps in the green transformation of the mining industry.

》A reminder《

BHP Group increased its iron ore production by 1% year-on-year to 263 million tons in financial year 2024/2025 (ending June 30). The production forecast for the 2025/2026 financial year is estimated at 258 to 269 million tons.

Rio Tinto reduced ore production at its Pilbara operations by 1% year-on-year to 328 million tons in 2024. For 2025, the company expects to ship 323 to 338 million tons of raw materials.

Rio Tinto $RIO (-1,04%)
$RIO (+0,43%) is targeting $5.0 billion to $10.0 billion of value creation through divestitures and productivity improvements as new CEO Simon Trott looks to simplify the Group and reduce execution risk.

In his first major strategy meeting almost five months into his tenure, Trott said the company wants to become the "most valuable" mining company in the world and be "stronger, more powerful and simpler".

Rio Tinto is focusing on iron ore, copper, aluminum and lithium and is tightening capital discipline across the company.

The mining group emphasizes profitability positioning, citing first quartile EBITDA margins for Rio's assets of 66% (iron ore), 57% (copper) 28% (aluminum) and 37% (lithium), pointing to "world-class assets" such as Pilbara and Simandou and the Iron Ore Company of Canada for iron ore, Oyu Tolgoi and Escondida and Kennecott for copper and South America for lithium.

Trott's view on divestitures is broad and blunt: assets that Rio "does not need to own" include titanium, borates, land, infrastructure and processing facilities, with non-core entities such as titanium dioxide and borates specifically highlighted. Beyond the direct sale, Rio is looking at commercial, partnership or ownership changes in the areas of land, infrastructure, mining and processing facilities, as well as the potential sale of smaller product lines.

Rio expects capital expenditure to fall below USD 10.0 billion per year from 2028 as major projects come to an end and the company scales back its investment in decarbonization.

The budget for decarbonization has been reduced from the original USD 5.0 to 6.0 billion to USD 1.0 to 2.0 billion by 2030.

Growth in the lithium sector will also be more restricted, meaning that new lithium projects will only be driven forward "if they are supported by the markets and returns".

In terms of costs, Rio is aiming to reduce unit costs by 4% from 2024 to 2030 while "releasing cash" from projects where third-party financing is below Rio's cost of capital.

Trott has already cut senior positions and suspended spending on BioIron and the Jadar lithium project in Serbia, which is expected to result in annual productivity gains of around $650 million.

Trott also said Rio is working with major shareholder Chinalco to remove governance restrictions that have limited share buybacks.

Operationally, copper is being moved to the forefront.

Rio has raised its forecast for copper production in 2025 following stronger activity at Oyu Tolgoi and now expects copper production in 2025 to be up to 3% higher than previously estimated, with 860,000 to 875,000 tons of copper in 2025 compared to 780,000 to 850,000 tons previously, followed by 800,000 to 870,000 tons in 2026.

Rio is targeting annual production of 1.0 million tons by 2030 and expects copper production at Oyu Tolgoi to increase by more than 50% this year and by around 15% in 2026.

Iron ore remains the volume driver, with production in Pilbara estimated at 323 to 338 million tons in 2026.

The new Simandou mine in Guinea shipped its first shipment of ore this week and is expected to produce 5 to 10 million tons in 2026, while BMO pointed out that this 5 to 10 million tons (on a 100% basis) represents a slower increase than its estimate of 19 million tons.

Rio Tinto $RIO (-1,04%)
$RIO (+0,43%) has successfully extracted the first copper from the Johnson Camp mine in Arizona with its Nuton technology, thus taking a decisive step in the development of this innovative copper processing technology.

After more than 30 years of research and development, the first copper cathode was produced last month at Gunnison Copper's Johnson Camp mine using Rio Tinto's proprietary bioleaching technology based on microorganisms grown on site. The engagement includes the development and delivery of a technology package for a heap leach facility that is expected to produce approximately 30,0001 tons of refined copper over a four-year demonstration period. Rio Tinto is in contact with several potential customers in the US to support the domestic copper supply chain.

Katie Jackson, Managing Director of Rio Tinto Copper, said: "This is a landmark achievement for our Nuton technology, proving that cleaner, faster and more efficient copper production is possible on an industrial scale. In an industry where projects typically take around 18 years to go from concept to production, Nuton has now proven that this is possible in just 18 months.

"Nuton has developed a modular system that is used as a technology package and integrates biology, chemistry, engineering and digital tools. This allows it to be quickly scaled and adapted to different ore bodies, making it possible to develop resources that were previously considered uneconomical or difficult. We are actively working on projects in North and South America to assess the potential for future deployment in other locations in the coming years."

Nuton uses naturally occurring microorganisms to extract copper from primary sulphide ores, which are traditionally difficult to process. These microbes, grown on a large scale in Nuton's proprietary bioreactors, accelerate the oxidation of the minerals in the crushed ore stockpile, generating heat and allowing the copper to dissolve into a leach solution, which is then processed into 99.99% pure copper cathode.

Significantly, processing copper ore with Nuton eliminates the need for concentration, smelting and refining, shortening supply chains and allowing the copper cathode to be delivered directly at the mine exit. The process achieves yields of up to 85% from primary sulphides, the most abundant copper-bearing ores in the world.

Nuton can also extend mine life and maximize resource utilization by extracting value from ore that would otherwise be classified as waste, increasing yield and revenue at both new and existing mines. Its environmental performance is expected to outperform conventional copper processing technologies, with up to 80% less water consumption and up to 60% less CO2 emissions than the traditional concentrator route.

At Johnson Camp, Nuton aims to produce copper with the lowest carbon footprint in the US. By purchasing 134,000 Green-e Energy certified renewable energy certificates, Nuton ensures that 100% of the site's electricity comes from renewable sources. The carbon footprint of the copper produced is expected to be 0.82 kilograms of CO2-e per kilogram of copper, which is the lowest in the U.S. and well below the global average of 3.4 kilograms of CO2-e per kilogram projected for 2026 at operating copper mines. In addition, water consumption is expected to be 71 liters per kilogram of copper, compared to the global industry average of ~130 liters per kilogram of copper production.

The Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto Plc$RIO (-1,04%)
$RIO (+0,43%) announced that it expects production growth of 7 percent for 2025 and has raised its forecast for copper production.

In addition, the company stated that EBITDA could increase by up to 40 to 50 percent by 2030, with a forecast average annual production increase of 3 percent.

The expected earnings growth would be based on long-term consensus prices driven by 20 percent copper equivalent production growth, operational excellence and capital discipline.

At today's Capital Markets Day 2025, Chief Executive Simon Trott and key executives will detail the company's strategies and growth efforts.

The company has raised its copper production guidance for the 2025 financial year to 860 to 875 kt from the previously expected 780 to 850 kt.

Bauxite production for 2025 is now expected to exceed the previous forecast of 59 to 61 million tons, with aluminum at the upper end of the forecast range of 3.25 to 3.45 million tons.

At the same time, the production forecast for IOC for 2025 has been revised downwards from previously 9.7 to 11.4 million tons to 9.0 to 9.5 million tons.

For the 2026 financial year, the company is forecasting copper production of 800 to 870 kt, bauxite production of 58 to 61 million tons and alumina production of 7.6 to 8.0 million tons.

Rio Tinto$RIO (-1,04%)
$RIO (+0,43%) intends to sell its boron assets in California as part of the group's ongoing efforts to simplify its operating model, according to Bloomberg.

On Wednesday, the media outlet reported that the Australian mining company will sell all of its US boron assets, including a mine and processing operations in the Mojave Desert town named after the element.

Rio's refinery and shipping facility at the Port of Los Angeles and its mining operation at Owens Lake near the Sierra Nevada will also be sold.

Together, these Californian assets cover around 30% of global demand for boron, according to the company's website.

Boron is currently used in a variety of industrial applications, including fertilizer, glass and ceramic manufacturing, fiberglass insulation and metal alloy reinforcement.

The United States, which has already established itself as a leading producer, recently added boron to its latest list of critical minerals, citing its key role in economic and national security-related products such as permanent rare earth magnets.

》Valued at 2 billion dollars《

Rio's boron mine in California was already in operation before it was acquired in 1967. Now, in its 100th year of operation, it has become one of the world's leading producers of borates and boron chemicals. The reserves of the deposit are sufficient to maintain production until the early 2040s.

The sale of the boron mine reflects Rio's strategy to simplify its operating structure under new CEO Simon Trott. Since taking office three months ago, Trott has restructured the group into three divisions and ordered a review of the minerals division, which includes borates. The company currently generates almost all of its profits from iron ore, copper and aluminum.

Rio has hired two major banks - UBS Group AG and JPMorgan Chase - to advise on the sale process, which is expected to begin in the next two weeks, according to Bloomberg. Rio could fetch as much as $2 billion for its boron assets, with private equity firms or chemical producers the most likely bidders.

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Rio Tinto $RIO (-1,04%)
$RIO (+0,43%) wants to reduce production at its Yarwun alumina refinery in the Australian state of Queensland by 40 percent in order to gain time to find a new long-term solution for the waste generated there in the production of aluminum oxide.

Production at the refinery will be reduced from October 2026, reducing annual alumina production by around 1.2 million tons, the mining group announced.

Around 180 of the current 725 employees will lose their jobs. Around 3 million tons of aluminium oxide are currently produced at the site each year. This supplies Rio Tinto's aluminum smelters and customers all over the world.

At current production rates, the Yarwun tailings facility, where the waste from the refinery process is stored, is expected to reach its capacity limit by 2031. However, the Group has not yet found an alternative solution. By cutting production, Rio Tinto will be able to maintain operations at Yarwun until 2035 while it looks for alternatives.

These could include "innovative solutions for the overburden", such as the use of centrifuges to produce dry overburden, according to the mining company.

Rio Tinto has been supplying alumina from Yarwun since 2004 and expanded the operation in 2012 to double production.

Diversified mining company Rio Tinto $RIO (-1,04%)
$RIO (+0,43%) has signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with Australian environmental technology company Calix to support Zesty's planned green iron demonstration plant in Kwinana, Western Australia, while further design work on its BioIron furnace is deferred pending the completion of additional engineering developments.

If approved, the Zesty demonstration plant will be constructed at the site previously earmarked for the Rio Tinto BioIron research and development (R&D) facility.

Rio Tinto said on Monday that its assessment of the current BioIron furnace design showed that further work was needed to minimize technical risks and improve performance, although the company remains confident in the long-term potential of the technology.

BioIron, which has been developed by Rio Tinto's steel decarbonization team over the past decade, uses raw biomass such as wheat straw, bagasse and rice straw as a reducing agent and consumes about a third of the electricity needed for hydrogen-based steelmaking.

The research was continued in collaboration with the University of Nottingham and Metso.

For the Zesty project, Rio Tinto will provide around 35 million Australian dollars in funding and in-kind support to advance the project, which is also supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

Calix has a separate ARENA grant of up to 44.9 million Australian dollars, subject to matching co-financing.

Zesty uses electric heating and hydrogen reduction to produce lower emission iron and is compatible with Pilbara ores, including lower grade materials.

The demonstration plant is designed to produce up to 30,000 tons per year of direct hydrogen reduced iron or hot briquetted iron.

Matthew Holcz, CEO of Rio Tinto Iron Ore, said the agreement would help advance a potential pathway for Pilbara ores in low-emission steelmaking, adding that work on BioIron would continue in parallel.

Under the JDA, Rio Tinto will provide engineering and technical services to support the project through to a final investment decision, which is expected in 2026.

Subject to permitting and construction, the mining company will supply up to 10,000 tons of Pilbara ore for commissioning and initial testing and introduce potential downstream customers.

The partnership grants Rio Tinto a non-exclusive, worldwide and perpetual license for the potential commercial exploitation of the Zesty technology, with the right to sub-license to affiliates and customers and to act as a non-exclusive global marketing agent.

The Kwinana site provides access to existing supply and port infrastructure and is close to the NeoSmelt facility where Rio Tinto and four other partners are developing downstream processing options with ARENA's support.

The mining giant Rio Tinto, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, among others $RIO (-1,04%)
$RIO (+0,43%) has put its massive Jadar lithium project in Serbia on hold for cost reasons in order to focus on other short-term opportunities.

According to an internal memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal, Rio Tinto announced it was putting the Jadar lithium project - a US$2.4 billion project considered to be potentially one of the largest greenfield lithium projects in the world - into maintenance mode.

The company, whose new CEO Simon Trott promised to cut costs and streamline operations when he took office in August, said the decision was made "as part of our strategy to simplify the entire portfolio and prioritize near-term opportunities".

Rio Tinto is one of the world's largest lithium producers following its US$6.7 billion acquisition of Acradium Lithium last year.

The mining group continues to attach strategic importance to Jadar and previously stated that the size and high grade of the deposits offered the potential to supply the electric vehicle value chain with lithium "for decades".

However, the project faces ongoing difficulties in obtaining approval from the Serbian government as well as opposition from the surrounding communities.

"Given the lack of progress in the permitting process, we cannot maintain the level of expenditure and resources committed to date," the company said in an internal statement this week.

Trott is expected to explain the strategic direction of the mining company to shareholders at a scheduled capital markets day in London on December 4.