Rio Tinto's defining moves.
The defining strategic moves at Rio Tinto — each one explained and grounded in the record.
The Reckoning · Pricing
Rio Tinto Didn't Choose to Destroy Juukan Gorge. Its Incentive Structure Did.
In 2020 Rio Tinto blasted a 46,000-year-old rock shelter for 8 million tonnes of iron ore. The popular story blames the CEO. The real culprit was an org chart that let an $18.8bn EBITDA line outrank a heritage site that couldn't fight back.
8 min
The Crisis Response · Decision Forks
Rio Tinto Didn't Fire Its CEO Over Juukan Gorge. The Shareholders Did.
Rio Tinto blew up 46,000-year-old rock shelters, then ran a textbook crisis response that fooled almost everyone. The CEO who oversaw it left 'by mutual agreement,' kept ~£27m in shares, and collected the highest pay of his career in the year he was ousted.
8 min
The Price Taker · Pricing
Rio Tinto Doesn't Set Its Prices. The Whole Company Is a Bet on One Number It Can't Control.
Rio Tinto made $11.6 billion in 2024 and lost money in 2015. The difference wasn't management - it was the iron ore spot price. Strip away the operational story and you find a company whose earnings are hostage to a number set in Qingdao.
8 min
The Cannibalization Choice · Decision Forks
Rio Tinto Didn't Pivot Away From Iron Ore. It Bought Its Future While the Future Was On Sale.
The story is that Rio Tinto is abandoning iron ore for copper and lithium. The numbers say otherwise: iron ore still threw off about $9.1 billion in 2024, dwarfing everything new. The real move was buying lithium at an 80%-off trough — and hoping the world catches up.
8 min