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Rio Tinto pledges $US7.5bn to transform operations

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Rio Tinto plans to halve its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 by using renewable power at its iron ore operations and aluminium smelters.

As part of a $US7.5 billion ($9.9 billion) investment, the mining giant will seek to rapidly commission one gigawatt of wind and solar power for its Pilbara iron ore operations.

This will cut around one million tonnes of carbon emissions and supports the early stages of electrifying Rio Tinto’s mining equipment.

Rio Tinto stated an additional gigawatt-scale renewable deployment will be needed for full electrification of its Pilbara operations.

The company will also look at greener steelmaking pathways for its iron ore through the use of biomass and hydrogen.

“Rio Tinto is taking action to strengthen our business and improve our performance by unleashing the full potential of our people and assets, working in partnership with a broad range of stakeholders,” Rio Tinto chief executive officer Jakob Stausholm said.

“All our commodities are vital for the energy transition and continue to benefit from ongoing urbanisation. We have a clear pathway to decarbonise our business and are actively developing technologies that will enable our customers and our customers’ customers to decarbonise.

“We are able to do this, while continuing to provide attractive returns to our shareholders in line with our policy, because we have a strong balance sheet and world-class assets that deliver strong free cash flows through the cycle.”

Rio Tinto stated its decarbonisation and growth strategy would result in strong returns for shareholders.

The company will also aim to switch its Boyne Island and Tomago aluminium smelters in Australia to renewable energy, which will require around five gigawatts of wind and solar power.

By 2025, Rio Tinto is targeting a 15 per cent reduction in emissions from its 2018 baseline of 32.6 million tonnes.

The company will also focus its investment in research and development technologies, including its ELYSIS development which is set to cut carbon emissions from the smelting process.

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