Rio Tinto halts RBM operations in South Africa

Rio Tinto halted mining activities and reduced smelting capacity at its majority-owned Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) operations in South Africa because of safety concerns over violence in the area.

Violence towards employees resulting from escalating criminal activity in South Africa spurred Rio Tinto to reduce operating activities to limit the number of on-site employees after a worker was shot in the last few days, the miner said today.

Construction at RBM's Zulti South project was halted as well.

As a result, Rio Tinto expects 2019 titanium slag production to fall to the bottom end of their 2019 guidance of 1.2mn-1.4mn tonnes (t).

RBM's mining production includes ilmenite, zircon and rutile. The latter two mineral sands are generally sold in their raw form, while ilmenite is roasted and smelted to produce titanium dioxide slag typically sold to pigment manufacturers.

RBM has a titanium slag capacity of 1mn t/yr and 555,000 t/yr of pig iron production. Additionally, zircon production capacity totals 250,000 t/yr and 100,000 t/yr rutile capacity. RBM contributes 1.65pc of the national mining sector output in South Africa.

By Nicholas Bell