For 145 years, Rio Tinto has been pioneering the production of materials essential to human progress. The minerals and metals Rio Tinto produces play a vital role in meeting consumer needs. They’re used in a diverse range of everyday items and innovative technologies that help make modern life work.

With around 15,000 people working across 35 plus locations, Rio Tinto is the biggest mining and metals company operating in Canada, and is committed to creating value and opportunity that reaches far beyond Rio Tinto’s operations. Rio Tinto hires local people, and partners with leading Canadian business and community organizations. Rio Tinto works hard to be good neighbours and to take good care of its people, natural surroundings, and Canada’s rich cultural heritage.

Rio Tinto has longstanding partnerships with communities, businesses, customers and institutions across Canada to create mutual value, improve our business performance, and demonstrate responsible leadership.

Rio Tinto recently announced that its Montreal office, currently the global headquarters for the aluminum business, would also serve as a global hub for Rio Tinto operations.

Rio Tinto strives to achieve long term partnerships with communities where we operate, to develop shared objectives, and deliver mutual value and benefits.

Our Statement of Commitment to Indigenous peoples outlines our focus on continued partnership in the areas of:

• Education, skills and training
• Cultural education and preservation
• Economic development
• Environmental stewardship

The company’s Canadian assets that currently report on TSM performance include the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC), the Diavik Diamond Mine, and Rio Tinto Fer et Titane (RTFT).

Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC)

The Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) is a leading Canadian producer of iron ore pellets and concentrate, serving customers worldwide. The company operates a mine, a concentrator and a pelletizing plant in Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as port facilities located in Sept-Iles, Quebec. It also operates a 418 kilometre railway that links the mine to the port.

IOC has a workforce of 2,500 and is the largest private-sector employer in Newfoundland and Labrador. IOC is a joint venture of Rio Tinto, Mitsubishi Corporation, and Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corporation.

One of the biggest milestones in 2017 was receiving board approval to move forward with the Wabush 3 project. Wabush 3 is a new pit that is being developed within IOC’s existing mine operations to extend the life of the mine, reduce operating costs, and sustain production of quality grade iron concentrates and pellets.

IOC was recognized for its commitment to safety by the Quebec Transport Excellence Awards for the creation of a geotechnical risk management database for the railway operations. Since the database’s implementation in 2017, IOC has been able to anticipate and prevent dangerous events that occur as a result of erosion created by adverse weather conditions.

Diavik Diamonds Mine

The Diavik Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories is a joint venture between Rio Tinto (60%) and Dominion Diamond Corporation (40%). Diavik began producing in 2003, and has an annual production of six to seven million carats of predominantly large, white gem-quality diamonds. Diavik has been recognized for its efforts and successes in providing socio-economic benefits to local Indigenous communities over the last 18 years. Since 2000, Diavik has spent $5.4 billion on northern businesses, or 71% of the company’s total business expenditures. Half of its northern expenditures have supported northern Indigenous businesses and their joint ventures.

At Diavik, sustainable development is integrated into everything it does. Diavik’s operations provide benefits and opportunities for local communities, businesses, and governments. Diavik works with all its stakeholders to deliver substantial and lasting benefits.

Through a responsible approach to mineral development, Diavik ensures it maintains its licence to operate. This also creates the opportunity to plan, implement, and deliver sustainable contributions to social well-being, environmental stewardship, and economic prosperity, within strong governance systems.

Diavik employs 1,187 people. Of these, 327 are non-Indigenous northerners and 222 are Indigenous northerners. In 2017, Diavik supported 24 apprentices, including eight northern Indigenous students and nine non-Indigenous students from local communities.

Diavik maintains a strong relationship with its community partners and is committed to supporting sustainable northern and Indigenous economic development, with a focus on improving the quality of life for local residents. It does so through direct support for local businesses and a continued commitment to training and innovation.

Havre Saint Pierre

Rio Tinto Fer et Titane (RTFT), which is wholly owned by Rio Tinto, operates a world-class ilmenite deposit at Lac Tio near Havre-Saint-Pierre, Quebec. RTFT is one of the leading manufacturers of raw materials for the titanium dioxide industry and a leader in the production of iron, steel and high-quality metal powders. It pioneered the process of removing iron from ilmenite and has operated in Quebec for 65 years.

RTFT employs approximately 165 people at Havre-Saint-Pierre.

In 2017, RTFT continued to focus on strengthening its relationship with its Indigenous partners in the region. Both the mine and metallurgical complex continued to focus on health and safety, implementing its Critical Risk Management Framework. RTFT continues to invest in projects aimed primarily at improving environmental performance, while advancing its management practices. RTFT improved its effluent water treatment system in 2017 with a new water management plan, and has set a voluntary target to reduce nickel concentration in the Petit-Pas Lake watershed.

ABORIGINAL AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH

IOC has been partnering with communities in Labrador West and Sept-Îles for more than five decades. Rio Tinto is a strong believer in developing and maintaining meaningful partnerships with local Indigenous groups, which is reflected by its strong performance in stakeholder outreach. In 2017 IOC launched a revised Community Investment Program which focuses on developing strong, long term partnerships within local communities, as well as supporting IOC’s employees who give their time and talents to the organizations that benefit our communities in such a positive way.

The Traditional Knowledge Panel operating in Diavik brings together Indigenous elders and youth selected by their community to engage in environmental management and monitoring, most notably as it relates to closure planning for the mine. The Traditional Knowledge Panel applies their knowledge of historical caribou migrations and behaviour, water quality and flow patterns, vegetation and the interaction of all aspects of the environment to identify concepts, values, understandings, and complexities to be considered for closure options across the site. The mine has consistently reported a Level A or above under the Aboriginal and Community Outreach Protocol since implementing the TSM program.

RTFT worked hard in 2017 to strengthen its engagement with its community stakeholders, including its Indigenous partners near the mine. Despite the economic conditions, RTFT maintained its commitment to community investment in 2017, which helped to mitigate impacts on the community from the downturn in the sector.

During the last several years, RTFT has worked very diligently on forging positive and productive working relations with the Indigenous community near its mining operations. The results of this outreach are demonstrated in Havre-Saint-Pierre’s first externally verified TSM assessment. It achieved a Level AAA for COI identification and effective COI engagement and dialogue, a Level AA for COI response mechanism, and a Level A for reporting.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING

Rio Tinto meets the requirements of the Crisis Management and Communications Protocol at the corporate level, as well as at all of its sites, including Labrador City, Sept-Îles, Havre-Saint-Pierre, and Diavik.

TAILINGS MANAGEMENT

Responsible tailings management is a priority for Rio Tinto. For example, after the Mount Polley and Samarco tailings incidents, Rio Tinto further strengthened its tailings controls. It checked the integrity of all its tailings facilities across the group, and critically reviewed its tailings standard to ensure that it is up to date and world class. Rio Tinto also worked very closely with its peer companies through MAC’s Tailings Working Group and the International Council on Mining and Metals to ensure that it shares a common platform and a common way forward in tailings management across the industry.

ENERGY USE AND GHG EMISSIONS MANAGEMENT

The Diavik Diamond Mine operates the largest hybrid wind-diesel power facility at a remote mine site in the world. Since coming on line in 2012, the windfarm has offset Diavik’s diesel use by over 18 million litres and reduced the overall GHG emissions by 51 thousand tonnes.

SAFETY AND HEALTH

A priority for all Rio Tinto operations is the safety and health of its employees. The company has undertaken several initiatives to help foster education and awareness. In 2017, Critical Risk Management was embedded across all of the company’s global sites, including those in Canada. Rio Tinto’s commitment to safety is reflected in this year’s TSM results, with strong performance across the four indicators.

BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT

Rio Tinto’s corporate biodiversity strategy governs biodiversity management systems across its business. The operations have focused their attention on implementing Rio Tinto’s strategy and furthering understanding of the requirements of this TSM Protocol.

For more information, please visit www.riotinto.com