Rio Tinto and Chinalco to explore mining technology partnership

In an attempt to bring forward the next era of mining technology, Rio Tinto and Chinalco are to explore an alliance aimed at delivering significant value and reshaping industry best practice.

Rio Tinto CEO Sam Walsh and Chinalco president Sun Zhaoxue signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Beijing, under which the companies will use their strengths to accelerate the development of new mining technology and further develop Rio Tinto’s ‘Mine of the Future^™’ programme.

The overall aim of the partnership is to develop and deploy leading technology to create safer working operations, improve environmental performance and increase the productivity at mining operations.

Walsh commented: “We have been in the business of producing metals and minerals for over 140 years. We wouldn’t have been as successful as a business without finding better ways of working and adapting to a changing world. The future leaders in our industry will be those companies that stay ahead of the game and keep applying fresh thought and practices to the business of mining. Together with Chinalco, we have the potential to deliver even more value for shareholders, by fully realising our pipeline of technology and innovation projects and taking next generation technologies through to full commercialisation and deployment”.

Adding to Walsh’s comments, Chinalco chairman Xiong Weiping said: “Chinalco embarks on a development path of transformation and innovation featuring the expansion from aluminium to comprehensive mining, and from domestic to overseas markets. Chinalco and Rio Tinto have explored and set up a new model of partnership as two international companies. The technical cooperation is of great significance for improving efficiency, reducing resource and energy consumption, developing green and safe mines, achieving sustainable development of resources and introducing innovation into economic growth. I hope this commercial cooperation approach of sincerity and mutual benefit can be widely applied into new-type partnerships among major international companies”.

The two companies will work together to establish the best way to capture the potential for cooperation in the mining industry.

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/mining/01112013/mining_partnership_for_rio_tinto_and_chinalco_217/