Rio Tinto CEO To Step Down, Launches $1.9B Bauxite Expansion Plan

Rio Tinto plc (NYSE:RIO) on Thursday disclosed that its CEO Jakob Stausholm will step down from his role later this year.

Jakob joined the company in 2018 as executive director and CFO and took on the role of CEO in January 2021.

Rio Tinto Chair Dominic Barton praised Stausholm's leadership and restoring “trust with key stakeholders”.

”Our focus on these things is undiminished and our strategic priorities are unchanged. This is a natural moment to appoint Jakob's successor, as we look ahead to our next phase in which we will double down to deliver greater operational performance to realise the full potential of our assets,” he added.

Separately, Rio Tinto disclosed plans to begin preliminary work on expanding production at the Amrun bauxite mine in Far North Queensland.

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The goal is to start production as early as 2029. The project, named Kangwinan at the request of the Wik Waya Traditional Owners, will include developing a new mine and enlarging the existing port facilities.

This expansion aims to nearly double the bauxite output from Rio Tinto's Weipa Southern operations, where Amrun is based.

Output from the Kangwinan project is intended to replace production from the Andoom mine in Cape York and the Gove mine in the Northern Territory, which are expected to wind down by the decade’s end.

If given the green light, the project will create a new mining hub roughly 15 kilometers southeast of the Amrun site, which opened in 2018 following a $1.9 billion investment.

The proposed expansion would boost Rio Tinto's annual bauxite output from its Weipa Southern operations by up to 20 million tonnes, adding to the current 23 million tonnes, and increase export capacity through the Amrun port.

This would primarily offset the production declines expected from the eventual closures of the Gove and Andoom mines.

The Kangwinan project is expected to create over 800 construction jobs and help retain the current workforce employed at Weipa's existing mining sites set to close.

A final investment decision is anticipated in 2026.

On Tuesday, the company committed $900 million for a 49.99% stake in Chile’s Salar de Maricunga, a lithium project controlled by the Chilean state-owned miner Codelco.

Investors can gain exposure to the stock via VanEck Steel ETF (NYSE:SLX) and iShares Copper and Metals Mining ETF (NASDAQ:ICOP).

Price Action: RIO shares are up 0.52% at $62.30 premarket at the last check on Thursday.

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