Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest mining companies, has reaffirmed its goal of producing one-million tonnes a year of copper by the end of the decade, as part of its strategy to become a global leader in energy transition materials.

Speaking at the company’s 2024 Investor Seminar in London, CEO Jakob Stausholm emphasised the company’s strategy of investing for a “stronger, more diversified and growing portfolio”.

A key element of Rio Tinto’s copper growth aspirations is the ramp-up of operations at its flagship Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia, where production is set to increase by more than 50% in 2024. This follows the continued expansion of the mine's underground operations, which will unlock higher-grade copper ore in the coming years.

Rio Tinto is forecasting group copper output to increase to between 780 000 t and 850 000 t in 2025, from 000 t to 720 000 t for 2024.

Besides Oyu Tolgoi, the miner produces copper at Kennecott, in the US and Escondida, in Chile. It also has several growth projects, notably the Winu project in Australia in which Sumitomo Metal Mining on Tuesday bought a 30% stake for $399-million, and the Resolution copper project in the US.

The company increased its overall capital expenditure guidance to $11-billion for the 2025 financial year, which is $1-billion above a previous forecast, and compares with $9.5-billion in 2024.

At the seminar, Stausholm also pointed to Rio Tinto’s focus on a diversified portfolio, with the group advancing significant projects in iron-ore, aluminium, and lithium. The company is increasing iron-ore production at its flagship Pilbara operation and stabilising aluminium assets to deliver greater returns. Pilbara iron-ore shipments are forecast to remain stable at 323-million to 338-million tonnes in 2025.

In lithium, the company recently made a $6.7-billion bid for lithium company Arcadium, a move designed to accelerate Rio Tinto’s growth in the electric vehicle supply chain.

In addition, the company recently delivered first lithium production at the Rincon 3000 project in Argentina, with plans for significant expansion. On Tuesday, the group also announced initial mineral resources and ore reserves for its Salar del Rincon lithium brine deposits in Argentina.

The initial mineral resources at the site include 1.54-million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in measured resources, 7.85-million tonnes LCE in indicated resources, and 2.29-million tonnes LCE in inferred resources. The ore reserves consist of 2.07-milion tonnes LCE in probable ore reserves

The current feasibility study estimates that the full-scale operation will produce around 53 000 t/y of battery-grade lithium carbonate for an expected 40-year lifespan. However, the company plans to expand the production capacity to 60 000 t/y through future debottlenecking and improvement programmes, subject to the necessary permits.

“As we ramp up the Oyu Tolgoi underground copper mine, deliver the Simandou high-grade iron-ore project in Guinea, and build out our lithium business through the proposed acquisition of Arcadium, we are underwriting a decade of profitable growth. We plan to utilise our strong balance sheet to unlock and accelerate Arcadium's Tier 1 projects, timed to meet future demand growth,” said Stausholm.