Rio Tinto’s Queensland Bauxite Focus in Australia

Mining major Rio Tinto has agreed a deal with Switzerland-based miner Glencore and Mitsubishi Development to acquire their Aurukun bauxite project in Western Cape York in Queensland, Australia. 

A Glencore company spokesperson confirmed the transaction, noting that the financial terms had not been disclosed, and the transaction remains subject to Government of Queensland and other Australian regulatory approvals.

A Rio Tinto spokesman confirmed the transaction. The project is currently held under a Mineral Development License with a Mining Lease yet to be granted. 

Traditional Owner agreements

If the acquisition proceeds, Rio Tinto would also assess the appropriate regulatory approvals pathway, in consultation with State and Commonwealth agencies, and work closely with Traditional Owners throughout the next stages of planning and development. Mining Digital notes that Rio Tinto has successfully developed mines in the Cape York region and has experience managing community relations. 

Rio Tinto bauxite operations

Rio Tinto already has a significant number of bauxite and downstream alumina and aluminium supply chain operations in the Cape York region of Northern Queensland.

Its operations in Far North Queensland include two bauxite mines, processing facilities, shiploaders, an export wharf, two ports, power stations, a rail network and ferry terminals. 

In 2025, Rio Tinto began early works and conducted final engineering studies related to the Kangwinan project, a proposed 20 million tonnes per annum production capacity expansion at the Amrun bauxite mine on the Cape York Peninsula. If the project is approved and Rio Tinto takes FID, Rio Tinto aims for first output as early as 2029. 

Rio Tinto began production at the Amrun bauxite mine in May 2020. 

The capacity expansion at Amrun is expected to offset the closure of Rio Tinto’s existing mining assets in the region. Production from Rio Tinto’s East Weipa mine ceased in 2024; production from its existing Andoom mine on the Cape York Peninsula as well as the Gove mine in the Northern Territory are expected to cease by the end of the decade.

Key facts

• Rio Tinto is a global leader in aluminium, with a large-scale, vertically-integrated business: bauxite mines and alumina refineries as well as smelters producing aluminium.
• Rio Tinto is developing low carbon technologies for the aluminium supply chain, with ELYSIS, a partnership with Alcoa, developing low carbon technology that eliminate direct greenhouse gas emissions from the aluminium smelting process
• Rio Tinto is also seeking to source low carbon electricity supply contracts for its energy-intensive alumina smelters: in August, Rio Tinto signed a deal to extend Tomago Aluminium’s electricity power supply, with electricity to be supplied by 100% renewable sources from 2033  
• Gladstone is a major hub for making aluminium in Australia. Rio Tinto operates the Yarwun Alumina Refinery, which processes bauxite into alumina, and Boyne Smelters (BSL), which smelts alumina into aluminium 
• Rio Tinto is also the majority shareholder in the independently operated Queensland Alumina (QAL) joint venture, one of the world’s largest alumina refineries
• Rio Tinto also holds a majority shareholding in the independently managed Tomago Aluminium joint venture in New South Wales, Australia’s largest aluminium smelter

Meet Rio Tinto’s partners

• Glencore operates as a trading and mining company with a globally diversified natural resource portfolio. The company focuses on metals, minerals and energy products. Glencore has been the subject of repeated attempted unsuccessful mergers with Rio Tinto, with attempts in 2014, 2024 and in 2026. While the mergers were originally motivated by potential synergies between the two companies’ coal mining assets in Australia, recent attempts have been motivated by Glencore’s globally diverse natural resource capabilities. It has become a major producer of more than 60 commodities which advance everyday life.
• Mitsubishi Corporation is a globally renowned enterprise with around 1,700 subsidiary companies across 90 different countries and regions, ranging from automotive manufacturing, electricity, industrial, chemicals and mineral resources. Its wholly-owned subsidiary Triland Metals is an active participant in non-ferrous metals trading and the company holds minority stakes in a number of mining operations, including the Quellaveco copper project and the Escondida project. 
• Queensland Alumina - Queensland Alumina (QAL) is an independently managed joint venture between Rio Tinto, which holds an 80% stake in the refinery in Gladstone and Rusal, which owns a 20% stake in the company. QAL is one of the world’s largest alumina refineries, producing approximately 3.7 million tonnes of smelter-grade alumina per year.