The final joint venture agreements were signed in Perth by Katie Jackson, Chief Executive of Rio Tinto Copper, and Hideyuki Okamoto, SMM Director, Managing Executive Officer and General Manager of the Mineral Resources Division. The two companies had previously signed a term sheet to establish the joint venture in December 2024.
The Winu project is an attractive, low-risk, long-life copper-gold deposit discovered by Rio Tinto $RIO (-0,45%) discovered in 2017. It is considered highly prospective for expansion beyond initial development.
Rio Tinto Copper Chief Executive Katie Jackson said: "Our relationship with SMM began in 2000 with our partnership at the Northparkes mine in New South Wales, and we look forward to bringing our combined experience and expertise to the Winu project.
"This partnership is a great fit for Rio Tinto and will strengthen the project as we continue to prioritize the strong and enduring partnerships we have built to date with the country's traditional owners, the Nyangumarta and the Martu."
Hideyuki Okamoto, SMM Director, Managing Executive Officer and General Manager of the Mineral Resources Division, said: "We are very pleased to renew our long-standing partnership with Rio Tinto and to leverage our extensive combined experience to realize the exceptional potential of the Winu project."
Under the terms of the agreements, Rio Tinto will continue to develop and operate Winu and SMM will pay Rio Tinto up to $430.4 million for a 30 percent interest in the project. This includes $195 million upfront and up to $235.4 million in deferred payments contingent on future milestones.
The parties will continue to work together to develop a broader strategic partnership to explore opportunities for commercial, technical and strategic collaboration in copper, other base metals and lithium.
The transaction is expected to close in 2025, subject to regulatory approvals and satisfaction of customary conditions.
Rio Tinto continues to focus on its partnerships with the traditional owners of Nyangumarta and Martu and is advancing negotiations on the project agreement. A pre-feasibility study for the Winu project with an initial development of up to 10 million tons per annum of processing capacity is expected to be completed in 2025, together with the submission of an Environmental Assessment Document under the EPA Environmental Impact Assessment process in Western Australia.