Rio Tinto is an Anglo-Australian metals and mining corporations, one of the world’s largest. It was founded back in 1873, by a multinational group of investors purchasing a mine complex from the Spanish government on Spain’s Rio Tinto. It has since grown via multiple mergers and takeovers to become one of the world’s biggest commodity producers, ranked 1-3 for many minerals.

Production is organised by way of four separate business operations. Production, by order of importance, relates to Iron ore, Bauxite, Alumina, Aluminium, mined Copper, refined Copper, Molybdenum, Gold, Diamonds, Coal, Uranium, Titanium dioxide and Borates.

Primarily focused on extracting minerals from the ground, Rio Tinto also has considerable operations in refining, particularly bauxite and iron ore. The company operates on six continents, but is focused on Australia and Canada, owning its mining operations via a complex spider’s web of wholly and part-owned subsidiaries.

Rio Tinto controls gross assets worth $81bn round the world, primarily in Australia (35%), Canada (34%), Europe (13%), and the USA (11%). South America, Africa and Indonesia making up the remaining minority.

Rio Tinto has twin head offices in London, UK, and Melbourne Australia  It benefits from a dual stock market listing  with its shares tradeable in both London (London Stock Exchange), where it is a member of the flagship UK Index 100 Index of blue-chip companies, and Melbourne where it is part of the well-known and resources-heavy Australia S&P/ASX 200 index.

American Depository Receipts (ADRs) for Rio Tinto’s UK shares are also tradable on the New York Stock Exchange, giving the mining group 3 major stock market listings, ensuring its shares are tradeable round the clock.

China is an important export market for natural resources, given its needs for raw materials. This makes the shares sensitive to any macro-economic data (GDP, inflation etc) from Beijing, often released overnight, first affecting the Australian-listed shares first.