I te 21 o Hānuere, 2026, e ai ki ngā purongo o tāwāhi, i whakaatu te kamupene keri nui o te ao, a Rio Tinto, i tana ahunga whakamua matua i te tau 2025, me te whakatutuki i ngā putanga nui i roto i ngā wāhanga hua matua pēnei i te bauxite, te konumohe, me te lithium. I "hurihia te mahi a tana mahi," ā, ko te huihuinga nui o te tuku tuatahi mai i te kaupapa nui a Simandou i Guinea i waiho hei kaupapa arotahi ā-tau i roto i te umanga kohuke o te ao.

Kua riro te pakihi bauxite hei tētahi o ngā pūkaha tipu matua o Rio Tinto i te tau 2025. E whakaatu ana ngā raraunga i piki ake te hanga bauxite ā-tau a te kamupene mā te 6% i ia tau, ā, i eke ki te taumata teitei o te 62.4 miriona tana, ā, i eke hoki te hanga o te hauwhā tuawhā ki te 15.4 miriona tana, e haere tonu ana te ia o te putanga teitei. Kua mārama te kī a Rio Tinto nā te whakapainga o te whai huatanga o te mahi i te tau 2025 i tutuki ai tētahi "huringa taahiraa", ā, mā te arotau i ngā tukanga whakaputa, ngā whakapainga taputapu, me te whakahaere ture me te whakahaere i ngā wāhi keri, i whakaitihia ake ai ngā utu whakaputa waeine me te whakarite i te tipu whakaputa. Hei rauemi mata matua o teumanga konumohe, kua whakatakotohia e te nui o te hanga bauxite he turanga pakari mō te tipu o ngā pakihi konumohe me te alumina i raro i te whenua.

I te tau 2025, i piki ake te hanga konumohe me te alumina a Rio Tinto i te wā kotahi, me te hanga alumina o te 1.97 miriona tana me te hanga konumohe o te 85,200 tana i te hauwhā tuawhā, he rite tonu ki te tipu o te tono o te ao mō ngā rauemi konumohe i roto i te rāngai pūngao hou.

I roto i te mara o ngā rauemi matua pūngao hou, kua puta hoki ngā hua whakamiharo i te pakihi lithium a Rio Tinto. I tutuki i ngā rawa whakahaere lithium a te kamupene kei Argentina te whakaputanga hauwhā nui i te tau 2025. Ko te kaupapa matua o ēnei rawa ko te Rincon Salt Lake Lithium Project, i hokona e Rio Tinto i mua mō te US$825 miriona, ā, i whakangaohia he US$2.5 piriona tāpiri mō te whakawhānui. Ko te mahere he whakanui ake i te kaha whakaputa ā-tau o te lithium carbonate kounga pākahiko ki te 60,000 tana, me te roa o te maina e tumanakohia ana mō te 40 tau.

I tēnei wā, kei te ahu whakamua te kaupapa whakawhānui kei te hangaia i te kaupapa Rincon e ai ki te whakamahere. E matapaetia ana ka tīmata mana te whakaputa i te tau 2028, ā, ka uru ki tētahi wā whakanui ake. I te heke mai, ka noho ko ia tētahi o ngā kaiwhakarato matua o te lithium puta noa i te ao, e whakarato ana i te tautoko rauemi matua mō te waka hiko hou, te rokiroki hiko, me ētahi atu mekameka ahumahi. I runga i te whakaaro ki te tauira tuku me te tono o te mākete lithium o te ao i te tau 2025, i te mea kei te haere tonu te whānui o te umanga hiko hou, ko te tukunga kaha o te pakihi lithium a Rio Tinto e matapaetia ana ka whakanui ake i tōna awe i roto i te mākete rauemi pākahiko o te ao.

Ko te mea tino hira, ko te kaupapa rino nui a Rio Tinto i Simandou, Guinea, i tutuki i tana tukunga tuatahi i te hauwhā tuawhā o te tau 2025, he tohu nui tēnei mō tēnei kaupapa tipu uaua me te nui kua roa e haere ana. Hei tētahi o ngā rahui rino kounga teitei nui rawa atu o te ao, kua aro nui te umanga ki te kaupapa rino Simandou nā ngā āhuatanga pēnei i tōna wāhi tawhiti me ngā wero e pā ana ki te hanganga hanganga. Ko te otinga o tēnei tukunga tuatahi ehara i te mea he putanga nui mō Rio Tinto i roto i tana whakatakotoranga rauemi kohuke i Awherika, engari ka werohia hoki te kaha hou ki te whenua tuku rino o te ao. I tēnei wā, kei te pupuri tonu ngā whenua whakaputa rino nui pēnei i a Haina i te tono pumau mō te rino kounga teitei. E matapaetia ana ka whakaitihia e te mahi arumoni o te kaupapa Simandou te iti o te tuku rino kounga teitei o te ao, me te akiaki nui i te whanaketanga ōhanga ā-rohe i Guinea.

Mai i te tirohanga ahumahi, ko ngā putanga hou a Rio Tinto puta noa i ngā momo pakihi maha i te tau 2025 e hangai ana ki ngā ia rerekētanga me ngā hiahia whakarerekētanga matomato o te mākete taonga o te ao. I te tau 2025, i whakaatu te mākete konganuku kore-ferrous o te ao i te mahi pakari, me te parahi, te konumohe, me ētahi atu momo e pāngia ana e te kaha o ngā utu nā te iti o te taurite tono tuku. Ko te mahi pumau o ngā utu konumohe i ahu mai i te tipu o te tono matomato, pērā i te whakamama i roto i ngā waka hiko hou me te whakamahinga konumohe i roto i ngā anga kōwae photovoltaic, me te tono matomato mō te 15% o te mākete.

I tino ōrite te tipu o te whakaputanga a Rio Tinto i roto i ngā pakihi bauxite me te konumohe ki te tono o te ao mō ngā rauemi konumohe i roto i te horopaki o te huringa matomato; i taua wā, i whai tata te whakatakotoranga o tana pakihi lithium i te ia whanaketanga o te umanga pūngao hou, e hangai ana ki te ia matua o te huringa hanganga pūngao o te ao.

E tātarihia ana e ngā kaitōrangapū o te umanga, ko te mahi whakamiharo a Rio Tinto puta noa i ngā momo umanga maha i te tau 2025 i ahu mai i tana whakatakotoranga tika o ngā rauemi kohuke matua me te arotau tonu i te whai huatanga o te mahi. I te hohonu haere o te whakawhiti matomato o te ao, ka nui ake te hiranga o te uara rautaki o ngā kohuke matua pēnei i te parahi, te konumohe, me te lithium.

E matapaetia ana e te International Energy Agency, i te tau 2030, ka piki ake te ōwehenga o te tono konumohe o te ao e pā ana ki te whanaketanga matomato ki te 25%. Me ōna rahui kaha me ngā whanaketanga kaupapa i roto i te konumohe, te lithium, me te rino, he mea tika kia titiro whakamua ki te pūmanawa tipu o Rio Tinto a meake nei. I taua wā, ko te whanaketanga tonu me te tukunga kaha o te kaupapa Simandou ka noho hei pou nui mō te tipu o Rio Tinto i te wā waenga me te wā roa, ka whakakaha ake i tōna tūranga hei kamupene keri nui o te ao i roto i te umanga.

Mō ngā whanaketanga ā muri ake nei, i kī a Rio Tinto ka arotahi tonu ki te whanaketanga me te whakahaere i ngā rauemi kohuke matua, ka whakateretere i ngā mahi matua pēnei i te whakawhānui ake i te kaupapa lithium i Argentina me te whakanui ake i te kaha whakaputa i te kaupapa Simandou, me te whakapakari ake i ngā kaha whakaputa matomato me te iti-waro hei whakahaere i te huringa pūngao o te ao me te whakatutukitanga o ngā whāinga kore-waro.