Rio Tinto is a large diversified mining group whose shares are traded and regulated through the London market, with major operations in Australia, Mongolia, Canada, the United States and Latin America. Iron ore remains its best-known product, but copper, aluminium and lithium together contributed more than half of group underlying EBITDA in the first half of 2026. Simon Trott is chief executive. The company operates through segments covering iron ore, aluminium and lithium, copper, and minerals, and it markets its output to steelmakers, smelters, battery supply chains and industrial customers worldwide.
Half-year 2026 results
Rio Tinto reported its 2026 half-year results on 29 July 2026. Consolidated sales revenue rose 15% to USD 31.0 billion, underlying EBITDA increased 28% to USD 14.8 billion and free cash flow grew 75% to USD 3.8 billion. Profit after tax attributable to owners reached USD 6.7 billion, up 47%, with underlying earnings of USD 6.9 billion and an underlying return on capital employed of 17%. Operating cash flow of USD 9.2 billion funded capital investment of USD 5.0 billion, and taxes and government royalties paid in the period were USD 5.6 billion. The interim ordinary dividend was set at USD 3.4 billion, or 211 US cents a share, a payout ratio of 50%. Net debt stood at USD 14.1 billion at 30 June 2026.
Growth projects: Simandou, the Pilbara and lithium
Copper equivalent production rose 3% in the first half, helped by the ramp-up of the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine in Mongolia and by work on the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, where Rio Tinto made its first sales of high-grade ore in April 2026. The SimFer mine and port infrastructure were both more than three quarters complete, and full rail commissioning had been achieved in the first quarter. In the Pilbara, the company recorded its highest first-half iron ore production since 2018 and has three replacement mines on budget for first ore in 2027. In lithium, first production was achieved at Fénix 1B and Sal de Vida ahead of plan and construction of the full-scale Rincon plant continues, supporting a target of roughly 200,000 tonnes a year of lithium carbonate equivalent capacity by 2028. Lithium results have been consolidated since the March 2025 acquisition of Arcadium Lithium.
Aluminium and Australian power agreements
On 13 August 2026 Rio Tinto announced an agreement securing the long-term future of the Tomago aluminium smelter in New South Wales, its largest such asset in Australia. Under the arrangement Tomago will sign a ten-year power purchase agreement running to 2038, with electricity supplied entirely from renewable sources from 2033, following the expiry of the current contract at the end of 2028. Tomago will invest AUD 1.1 billion in the smelter to 2038, including AUD 100 million for decarbonisation, and will keep providing demand response services to the New South Wales grid. Tomago is a joint venture owned by Rio Tinto with 51.55%, Gove Aluminium Finance with 36.05% and Norsk Hydro with 12.4%, and produces up to 590,000 tonnes of aluminium a year. The deal follows a March 2026 agreement with the Commonwealth and Queensland governments covering the Boyne smelter at Gladstone. Once Tomago runs on fully renewable power, the company expects a reduction of 7.1 million tonnes a year in the smelter's scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Safety, productivity and operating discipline
The half-year statement records the deaths of two colleagues, at Simandou and Kennecott, and reports an all-injury frequency rate of 0.40 for the period. Rio Tinto launched its Management Operating System on 1 July 2026 to standardise safety, risk, planning and performance practices. A productivity programme had banked USD 870 million of benefits by mid-year, reached a USD 1.3 billion annualised run rate and targets USD 1.8 billion annualised by the end of 2026; the company links it to a planned 3% uplift in copper equivalent volumes and an annual reduction of about 4% in operating unit costs through to 2030. Decarbonisation work includes trials of eight 91-tonne battery-swappable electric haul trucks at Oyu Tolgoi with China's State Power Investment Corporation, low-carbon AP60 aluminium and the group's commitment to halve scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 against a 2018 baseline.
Reporting calendar and contact
Rio Tinto's 2026 regulatory releases include second-quarter production results on 15 July, the half-year results and results presentation on 29 July, the Tomago agreement on 13 August, and a notice of dividend currency exchange rates and publication of a prospectus on 15 September. Interim dividends and total voting rights updates are also published through the same channel. Media enquiries are handled by regional teams in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and the Americas and are directed to a single address, [email protected]. The company also runs a confidential whistleblowing programme, publishes sustainability, climate, taxes paid and modern slavery reporting on its website, and maintains an executive committee page listing its leadership.