RIO TINTO LTD

Tailings

We engage with stakeholders throughout the

life cycle of our tailings storage facilities, from

design to closure. We also collaborate closely

with external bodies to improve the way

tailings are managed across our industry.

We operate 104 tailings storage facilities (TSFs)

across our global assets. Thirty-eight are active

TSFs, 24 are inactive and 42 are closed.

We work through technical committees and

joint venture relationships to support leading

practice in tailings management. Our full

tailings disclosure is available on our website.

We periodically update the list of TSFs to

reflect operational and ownership changes.

These include changes due to the transition to

closure or remediation obligations for legacy

assets, and reclassification of facilities.

Our facilities are regulated and permitted and

have been managed for many years to comply

with local laws, regulations, permits, licences

and other requirements. Tailings management

has been included in the Group risk register

since 2010, and our Group safety standard for

tailings and water storage facilities has been in

place since 2015. Our internal assurance

processes verify that our managed TSFs

operate in accordance with this standard,

whichwe updated in 2021.

Our TSFs have emergency response plans –

tested through training exercises in collaboration

with stakeholders such as local emergency

services – and follow strict business resilience

and communication protocols.

We have continued to progress our

implementation of the Global Industry

Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM).

This focuses on preventing tailings facility

failures, reducing the social and environmental

impacts of tailings facilities, and improving

engagement and transparency on tailings with

local communities. We have also assessed

our progress on implementation through self-

assessment and independent audits, using

ICMM’s GISTM Conformance Protocols.

In 2024, we completed implementation work

for the tailings facilities that have a “Very

High” or “Extreme” consequence

classification, except where longer-term

engineering works are required. However,

there is still work to do to embed the changes

made. The product group and Closure

implementation teams continue to work

towards full conformance for the remaining

tailings facilities by August 2025.

In August 2024, in accordance with Principle 15

of the GISTM, we updated our public tailings

disclosures for the “Very High” and “Extreme”

tailings storage facilities we operate.

We also updated our disclosures for the

other tailings facilities we operate that have

lower GISTM consequence classifications,

based on the Investor Mining and Tailings

Safety Initiative (IMTSI) request for public

disclosures on tailings.

For more information see riotinto.com/tailings

In 2024, we:

–Continued to regularly convene the Tailings

Management Committee with our designated

Accountable Executives. This provides

coordinated governance of tailings

management practices across the Group.

–Conducted multidisciplinary risk assessments

for all our “Very High” and “Extreme”

consequence facilities.

–Continued to play an active role in the ICMM

tailings working group, which provides

guidance to support the safe, responsible

management of tailings with the goal of

eliminating fatalities and catastrophic events.

Closure and repurposing

We are committed to being responsible

operators throughout the entire life of our

assets, delivering value at every stage – from

discovery to closure.

Today, we plan for the end right from the

beginning, incorporating closure in each

stage of the asset lifecycle in the way we

design, build and operate.

We work with communities, governments

and other stakeholders to complete closure

activities and repurpose and renew sites for

their next use.

At the end of 2024, closure provisions on our

balance sheet totalled$15.7 billion (2023:

$17.2 billion).

In 2024, we continued to mature our closure

practices and develop our expertise through

our approach.