Rio Tinto halts work at South African mine

There has been an escalation of criminal activity towards RBM employees ¬– one worker was shot and seriously injured. As a result, all mining operations at RBM have been halted and the smelters are operating at a reduced level with a minimum number of employees now on site. Construction of the Zulti South project has also been temporarily paused.

Bold Baatar, Chief Executive of Energy and Minerals, said: “The safety of our people is Rio Tinto’s key priority and we have taken decisive action to stop operations to reduce the risk of serious harm to our team members.

“We are in discussions with the local communities, regional and national governments and the police in order to find a way to address the safety and security issues. Our goal is to return RBM to normal operations in a safe and sustainable way. We would like to acknowledge and thank the police and authorities for their support.”

The company has stated it will contact its customers to discuss how to minimise any potential disruptions. Titanium dioxide slag production for 2019 is now expected to be at the bottom end of 2019 guidance of between 1.2 and 1.4 million t.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/05122019/rio-tinto-halts-work-at-south-african-mine/