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1. Rio Tinto Group - A Brief History
The Rio Tinto Group is one of the world’s leading
metals and mining corporations, boasting over
75,000 employees and operations on six
continents. The Rio Tinto Group was founded in
1873 by Hugh Matheson, an Englishman living in
Spain, who purchased the Palabora copper mine
in South Africa. He named his company after the
river that ran through the mine, the Rio Tinto
(Red River). The company later diversified into
other minerals, especially aluminum, copper,
uranium and diamonds.

2. Early Days
In 1880, a group of investors purchased a mine
complex on Rio Tinto, in Huelva, Spain, from the
Spanish government. The land was very poor
quality because it had been subjected to
intensive mining and its return in ores was low.
In order to generate sufficient cash flow to fund
future expansion, they formed Rio Tinto
Company Limited (in London), with a
capitalization of £500,000 in 1886.
1980s – 1990s
Through a series of mergers and acquisitions,
Rio Tinto became a truly global company with
mines and operations on every continent except
Antarctica. This growth continued in 1997 when
Rio Tinto PLC was listed on London’s Stock
Exchange, enabling it to build its stake in
Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd (Chinalco)
from 25% to 40%. The Asian economic crisis of

3. 1998 had a significant impact on Rio Tinto’s
share price, but by 2000 it had recovered.
2000 to present
In 2000, under pressure from shareholders and
seeking to reduce debt, Rio Tinto embarked on a
plan to raise funds by selling assets. It sold its
aluminium assets in Quebec for $2.5 billion and
its bauxite interests in Jamaica for US$1.4
billion, making it one of several companies that
helped to finance a buyout of aluminium
producer Alcan Inc. by Rio’s original partner,
Alcoa Inc.. It also sold an 8% stake in NRG
Energy Inc.
Roman Era
Founded in 1873 by a group of Englishmen and
Spaniards who saw potential in Huelva’s rich
veins of copper ore, Rio Tinto took root during
Roman times. The Spanish government awarded
its first concession to extract minerals from
around what is now known as Rio Tinto on June

4. 29, 1496. This first consortium included both
Spanish and English investors. One hundred
years later, in 1556, another concession was
granted to Spanish royalty that would become a
part of Rio Tinto.
Middle Ages
The Rio Tinto iron ore operation in Spain began
in Roman times, but it wasn’t until 1873 that a
group of investors purchased a mine complex on
Rio Tinto from Spanish government. They were
able to exploit an unexpected boom in demand
for steel, and their business quickly grew into a
large multinational. In 2010 Rio’s net income was
$4.4 billion and it employed 63,000 people
around the world.
around the world.
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