Rio Tinto’s new boss has indicated a focus on developing of new mining assets as the company strives to be more consistent in its operations.
Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm, who took over from Jean Sebastien Jacques in January, addressed Australian shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting for the first time.
“We must excel in development – from identifying opportunities to maturing and developing them,” he said on Thursday.
“We must do this to build our portfolio for the next decade and beyond. I know we can do it by leveraging our expertise and maintaining an absolute commitment to capital discipline.”
Large miners including Rio and rival BHP have for years focused on slashing costs at existing projects, and any additional capital has been returned to shareholders. But a surging iron ore price could be encouraging them to consider expanding their asset base.
Mr Stausholm also said while Rio’s 2020 operational performance was good in the COVID-19 affected year, there are opportunities to improve the consistency of its performance.
The mining giant lifted iron ore shipments in the first three months of the year by seven per cent on the back of booming demand from Chinese steel mills.
Production, however, fell two per cent from the same period last year amid above-average rainfall across Western Australia and labour shortages that affected mining and port operations.
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