Rio Tinto suspends South African operation over ‘criminal activity’

Increasing violence in communities around its Richards Bay Minerals complex in South Africa has forced Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO) to curtail all mining operations there, the Anglo-Australian miner says.

The company reported “an escalation of criminal activity” towards the unit’s employees, and said one person had been shot and seriously injured.

Smelters at the unit are operating at a reduced level.

Meanwhile, in the United States, Rio Tinto has announced plans to invest US$1.5 billion over the next six years to extend production at its Kennecott copper operation in Utah to 2032.

The investment will start next year and enable the company to develop the second phase of the South Wall Pushback project, including funding waste rock stripping and additional infrastructure development. (The first US$90 million phase of the pushback will be completed in 2021.)

The additional funds will allow Kennecott to produce 1 million tonnes of refined copper between 2026 and 2032.

Rio Tinto currently delivers almost 20% of the country’s total copper production. Last year, Kennecott produced 194,700 tonnes of the refined metal.

“We like copper. We like the U.S.,” Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastian Jacques told Reuters in an interview this week. “If we had not taken this decision, our position in the U.S. market would be shrinking.”

The diversified miner acquired Kennecott in 1989. The open pit mine is near Salt Lake City.

As for its iron ore operations in the Pilbara, Rio Tinto announced plans late last month to invest US$749 million on the company’s Greater Tom Price operations to sustain production capacity.