The Board of Directors of Oyu Tolgoi LLC has approved the commencement of development work under an alternative mine plan while discussions continue with Entrée Resources and the Government of Mongolia regarding the transfer of licenses to allow mining in the Entrée joint venture area.

Oyu Tolgoi continues to ramp up production from Panel 0 and Panel 2 in 2025 and 2026 as planned, with Rio Tinto's copper forecast $RIO (-0,1%)
$RIO (-0,43%) for 2025 of 780 to 850kt1 remains unchanged.

The world-class orebody offers options with multiple development pathways. Panel 1, which includes the Entrée joint venture area, was targeted for production from 2027 under the existing mine plan. Development work in the Entrée Joint Venture area is now on hold until the Government of Mongolia has processed the required transfer of licenses from Entrée to Oyu Tolgoi LLC. Limited development work will continue in Field 1 outside of the Entrée Joint Venture area, with resources being redeployed to advance development work in Field 2 South, which is outside of the Entrée Joint Venture area.

Oyu Tolgoi's production ramp-up remains on track to deliver an average of 500 ktpa of copper from 2028 to 2036, with the option to bring Panel 1 or Panel 2 South into production first, depending on the timing of the Entrée license transfer.

Rio Tinto Copper Chief Executive Katie Jackson said: "Oyu Tolgoi continues to ramp up as planned, with the cave performing ahead of expectations. Our understanding of the orebody is growing as production and development progresses, further increasing our confidence and flexibility. As lateral development work has just commenced in Field 1, this is the right time to bring forward development in Field 2 South to preserve our options.

"The transfer of Entrée's joint venture area licenses will maximize the value of Oyu Tolgoi for all parties and we continue to work with the Government of Mongolia and Entrée Resources towards this outcome."

Oyu Tolgoi LLC is the owner and operator of the Oyu Tolgoi mine and is jointly owned by Rio Tinto (66%) and the Government of Mongolia (34%).

Zlatko Kokanovic, a farmer from Serbia's Jadar region, is determined to stop the development of a lithium project by Rio Tinto $RIO (-0,1%) lithium project, which this week was classified by the European Commission as strategically important to reduce dependence on China for mineral resources.

Lithium is an important component of batteries for electric vehicles and mobile devices. The mine in the Jadar Valley would cover 90% of Europe's lithium needs if it were to be realized.

But like thousands of protesters, including many other farmers, who have tried to block the development of the project in recent years, Kokanovic is concerned about the pollution of farmland in a region where the majority of people make their living from agriculture.

"There are things that money can't buy," Kokanovic, a father of five who is one of the largest milk producers in Gornje Nedeljice and a leading activist in the region, told Reuters.

"I want to tell them (Rio Tinto) not to try to develop the mine, otherwise there will be riots," he added.

Rio Tinto has not given a start date for the project, which is expected to produce 58,000 tons of lithium carbonate annually, but has pledged to develop the mine cleanly.

"The project will be conducted with the highest level of transparency, environmental protection and human rights standards," said Chad Blewitt, Rio Tinto's managing director for the Jadar project.

"The European Union and the European Commission are never substitutes for these high standards, they never abandon them."

Blewitt had told Reuters on Wednesday that the company was reviewing the cost of the project.

Rio Tinto's lithium project has been contested by green groups for years and sparked massive street protests in the EU candidate country Serbia in 2022.

In 2021 and 2022, Serbian environmentalists collected 30,000 signatures on a petition calling on parliament to pass a law stopping lithium exploration in the country.

The government revoked all of Rio Tinto's exploration licenses in 2022 before the Constitutional Court overturned the decision last year and reinstated them.

Government officials claim the mine will boost the Serbian economy.

It is unclear how the protesters can stop a project that has been approved at home and abroad. However, the recent student protests in Serbia, where hundreds of thousands took to the streets and brought down the government, show how strong civil society is in the Balkan country.

Rio Tinto $RIO (-0,1%)
$RIO (-0,43%) has officially opened its newest iron ore mine, Western Range. The Premier of Western Australia, Roger Cook, and the Federal Minister for Resources, Madeleine King, joined the traditional owners of Yinhawangka and senior representatives from Rio Tinto and joint venture partner China Baowu Group (Baowu) to celebrate the milestone.

Western Range has a production capacity of up to 25 million tons of iron ore per year and could sustain the existing Paraburdoo mining hub for up to 20 years.

The 2 billion dollar project1, a joint venture between Rio Tinto (54%) and Baowu (46%), was completed on time and on budget. It included the construction of a primary crusher and an 18-kilometer conveyor belt system connected to the existing processing plant in Paraburdoo.

The new mine provides stability for Paraburdoo's more than 880 stationary and FIFO employees.

It also supports the continued viability of the town of Paraburdoo and strengthens the Western Australian and national economy through royalties and taxes.

Yinhawangka Aboriginal Corporation Chief Executive Robyn Hayden (nee Tommy) and Yinhawangka Traditional Owners attended the launch along with Premier Cook, Minister King, Baowu Group Chairman Hu Wangming, Baowu Resources Chairman Shi Bing, Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm, Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive Simon Trott and other government and joint venture representatives.

The Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) Aboriginal Corporation and Rio Tinto $RIO (-0,1%)
$RIO (-0,43%) have signed a co-management agreement to support a lasting and trusting partnership.

The agreement provides the overarching framework for Rio Tinto's iron ore operations on PKKP land and sets out how the two companies will collaborate on proposals affecting the cultural and social environment throughout the lifecycle of the mine.

It will ensure that knowledge sharing and joint planning are at the heart of Rio Tinto's activities on PKKP Country so that the significant heritage is preserved and jointly managed.

Terry Drage, Traditional Owner of Pinikura and Chairman of PKKP Aboriginal Corporation, said: "This agreement gives PKKP Traditional Owners the certainty that our important places on the land will be protected from mining, while Rio Tinto gets the certainty of where it can develop much earlier in the mining cycle.

"Ultimately, this is good for us as traditional owners and good for business."

Simon Trott, Chief Executive of Rio Tinto Iron Ore, said: "The destruction of the Juukan Gorge rocks on May 24, 2020 has caused immeasurable pain to the PKKP and has profoundly changed our business.

"Our actions were wrong. We failed to uphold our corporate values and our systems and processes were inadequate. Put simply, it should never have happened and we will be forever sorry for that."

"By sharing knowledge and experience openly and sympathetically, PKKP has helped to develop a new approach to heritage protection and mining activities."

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by Apache Stronghold seeking to block the development of the Resolution Copper Mine in Arizona.

The mine is a joint venture between Rio Tinto $RIO (-0,1%) and BHP $BHP (-0,03%).

The advocacy group, made up of members of the San Carlos Apache tribe in southeastern Arizona and conservationists, has challenged a 2024 lower court decision that allowed a federal land swap that allowed mining companies to acquire land considered sacred by the Apache people for the mine project.

A federal judge in Arizona temporarily halted the land swap on May 9 pending the outcome of the appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Resolution Copper project is 55% owned by Rio Tinto and 45% owned by BHP, with Rio acting as operator.

Subsequent purchase at $RIO (-0,1%) only just above my initial investment. This doubled the commodities sector in my portfolio.

The mining group Rio Tinto
$RIO (-0,1%)
$RIO (-0,43%) is providing more than eleven billion US dollars for the development of its lithium business, according to Barrenjoey analyst Glyn Lawcock.

This also includes money for the joint venture with the Chilean company Enami.

He expects the mining group alone to put up more than five billion dollars for the full development of a pipeline of lithium projects, Lawcock writes.

Rio Tinto said it will contribute about $425 million in cash, its direct lithium extraction technology and other non-monetary contributions to bring the project with Enami to a final investment decision.

Barrenjoey rates Rio Tinto as "Overweight" and sets a price target of 126.00 Australian dollars. The share is trading 1.0 percent lower at 115.82 Australian dollars.

Rio Tinto $RIO (-0,1%) wants to increase the capacity of its Amrun bauxite mine in the Australian state of Queensland. The mining group has announced that it is carrying out initial work to expand capacity.

Rio Tinto wants to ensure that it has enough bauxite available for its alumina plants and customers.

The project, called Kangwinan, includes a new mine and an expansion of port capacity, which would allow Rio Tinto to almost double its bauxite production in the Weipa Southern region, where Amrun is located. First production is planned around 2029, Rio Tinto said.

Production from the Kangwinan project will replace the loss of the Adoom mine in Queensland and the Gove mine in the Northern Territory, which Rio Tinto expects to close towards the end of the decade.

The aluminum oxide that Rio Tinto produces in its refineries in Queensland will be processed into aluminum in aluminum smelters in Australia and New Zealand. Rio Tinto intends to make the final investment decision in 2026.

A bauxite production capacity of up to 20 million tons would be added in Weipa Southern. The current capacity is around 23 million tons. According to the company, early work such as a camp for construction workers and an access road have already been approved.