Rio Tinto wrangles investors over water contamination claims

Global mining giant Rio Tinto, which sparked outrage after destroying an ancient Indigenous site in Australia in 2020, faces new pressure from socially conscious investors and lenders, this time on water practices at two of its mines.

A group representing UK pension funds, Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF), has raised concerns about the company’s water management at its Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia and an ilmenite mine in Madagascar.

It’s a burr in the saddle for CEO Jakob Stausholm, who was brought in to restore the company’s social license after it blew up an Aboriginal rock shelter at Juukan Gorge.

Civil society group Accountability Counsel, which works with Mongolian herders, told Reuters that some livestock became ill and died after mine operations began, which herders blame on worsening water quality.

Read the full article from Reuters here.