Rio Tinto to resume operations at Richards Bay Minerals

Rio Tinto has started the process of resuming operations at Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) in South Africa, it announced on Monday.

The FTSE 100 mining giant said the move followed discussions led by the Premier of the province of KwaZulu-Natal, Sihle Zikalala, involving all stakeholders, which were focussed on “securing stability” in a bid to address the issues in the community, and provide “the stable environment necessary” for RBM to resume operations.

Mining operations at the division were halted on 4 December, after an employee was shot and injured amid violence in surrounding communities.

It said a phased restart was now in progress across the operation, with RBM expected to return to full operations in early January, leading to regular production in early 2020.

Rio Tinto said it was contacting customers, who were previously advised of a force majeure in their supply, that it had now been lifted.

It said it would review the restart of the Zulti South project after normalisation of operations at RBM.

“The safety and security of our people is always our first priority and we are pleased that we will now be able to get back to work creating value for our people, our communities, South Africa and RBM's shareholders,” said chief executive of energy and minerals, Bold Baatar.

“I would like to thank the Government of South Africa and the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal for their support and assistance in getting us to a position where we can restart operations at RBM.

“I would also acknowledge the work of community leaders and the police over the previous few weeks.”

As it had previously advised, titanium dioxide slag production for 2019 was now expected to be at the bottom end of 2019 guidance of between 1.2 and 1.4 million tonnes.

At 0931 GMT, shares in Rio Tinto were down 0.87% in London, at 4,509p.