Richards Bay Minerals ownership

Rio Tinto holds a 74 per cent stake in RBM and manages the operations. Blue Horison, a BBBEE consortium consisting of lead investors and the four host communities, owns a 24 per cent stake, while the remaining two per cent of the shares are held in an employee trust.

RBM is a significant contributor to the economy of KwaZulu-Natal. RBM accounts for 50 per cent of KwaZulu-Natal’s mining output and 3.3 per cent of the national mining sector by value of output.

Company profile

Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) is a world leader in heavy mineral sands extraction and refining and South Africa’s largest mineral sands producer and beneficiation company.

Formed in 1976 to mine the vast mineral rich sands of the northern KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, the mine produces predominantly rutile, zircon, titania slag, titanium dioxide feedstock and high purity iron.

“Our commitment is beyond mining, we would like to leave this area better than the way we found it. We believe that if we are to make a meaningful contribution to the lives of families living in our host communities then joint partnerships with government are critical.”

Mpho Mothoa, managing director, Richards Bay Minerals.

Beneficiation process

RBM uses a system of ponds and floating dredges to mine the ore body, where heavy valuable minerals such as ilmenite, zircon and rutile are recovered from the sand.

The heavy mineral concentrate is then transported to the mineral separation plant (MSP).

Upon arrival at the mineral separation plant, located at the smelter site, the heavy mineral concentrate is re-slurried and pumped into the feed preparation circuit. The non-magnetic materials, including zircon and rutile, are concentrated for further processing in the dry mill. Roasting, smelting and slag and iron processes are used to extract the final products.

FeTiO3 ZrO2 TiO2

Fact sheet January 2016

Rio Tinto

Blue Horison

Employee Trust

74%

24%

2%

RBM is highly competitive in world markets due to Rio Tinto’s proprietary smelting technology and international marketing links.

We have distributors in most economically-active countries in the world and our close proximity to rail

Taking our product to market

and harbour links makes the logistics of moving millions of tonnes of product throughout the world cost-effective.

At any one time, no fewer than 20 large ocean-going vessels are either at anchorage or on the high seas, transporting our products destined for customer markets across the globe.

Highly competitive in world markets

Leading global supplier of titanium, zircon and pig iron

RBM currently has the capacity to produce approximately

two million tonnes of product annually, including about 100,000 tonnes per year of rutile and 250,000 tonnes per year of zircon.

Producing minerals and metals essential for modern life

Of this, 95 per cent is exported, yielding a world market share of about 25 per cent of titanium dioxide feedstock (titania slag and rutile), 33 per cent of the world’s zircon output and 25 per cent of the world’s high purity pig iron.

FeTiO3 ZrO2 TiO2

Titania slag Rutile High-purity pig iron Zircon

The titanium dioxide contained in the titania slag is used to create a pure white, highly refractive, ultraviolet-light-absorbing pigment. The pigment is used in products such as foodstuff, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, as well as in paint, plastics, textiles and inks.

Rutile is used in welding rod fluxes, or processed into its titanium metal form. In this form it is used extensively in the aerospace and aviation industries

because of its lightness, strength, corrosion and heat resistance. These properties also make it ideal for use in artificial hip joints and pacemakers.

High-purity pig iron is used as a raw material in foundries for the production of ductile iron castings. Ductile iron is used extensively throughout the world for the production of safety–critical automotive parts, such as brake calipers and steering knuckles in cars and trucks.

Zircon is used in the production of ceramic tiles and sanitary ware. Refined to zirconia, it is used in a wide range of advanced ceramics, refractories, jewellery, and electronic applications, including television screens and computer monitors.

Product uses

Zulti South project

The proposed Zulti South Project will sustain slag production capacity for the RBM smelter thus ensuring the continued delivery of RBM products for the benefit of shareholders, customers, employees, local communities and the national economy.

A project feasibility study is underway.

Current relocation activity is largely focused on the proposed Zulti South mine extension.

We are committed to upholding the principle of “no worse off” resettlement and aim for “better off” relocation and resettlement in accordance with World Bank policy and IFC standards.

Largest mineral sands producer in South Africa

Applying global best practice

RBM believes that safety and health are indivisible, that an unhealthy or tired worker is an unsafe worker. Our vision is to create an injury and illness free workplace.

Safety is about people. Numbers, policies, standards, programmes and targets are all important and have helped to improve our performance in recent years but it is only once all employees and contractors have the knowledge, competence and desire to work safely that we will achieve a true zero harm culture. We are determined to succeed in this.

An important part of managing health is identifying and managing the major health risks with a view to minimising the occurrence of occupational illness and encouraging healthy lifestyles for our employees.

Towards a culture of zero harm at RBM

Our mission, vision and leadership values, while underscoring principles needed for operational sustainability, are biased toward compassion and care for our people and the natural environments within which we operate.

Towards a culture of zero harm at RBM

Sound environmental management practices

Stakeholder engagementCommunity

development

Responsible beyond mining

Leadership values Trust, Caring, Honesty, Courage, Respect, Fairness.

Since 1977 RBM has practiced a philosophy of partnership in its approach to development and has partnered with a number of government departments and non-governmental organisations to plan, fund and implement a variety of highly effective community development projects.

Our spend on LED projects is significant in host communities, including small-scale farming, business development, construction and refurbishment of community roads, houses for destitute families, education and healthcare. As an example, in 2015, community HIV/AIDS and health programmes benefited 35 local primary schools and more than 20,000 community members. Awareness campaigns on road safety, water conservation, electricity safety and energy saving were also rolled out in local communities.

Local economic development (LED)

RBM appreciates that its actions affect all stakeholders around its operations. In 2015, RBM revised and relaunched its Communities Strategy which is aimed at building mutually beneficial relationships and contributing to the long-term sustainability of local communities.

Dedicated teams hold regular consultative meetings with stakeholders on a host of issues. The Relocation and Resettlement Process, related to the pending Zulti South expansion project, is a key focus area in our community engagement efforts.

Stakeholder engagement

The minerals we mine are biologically inactive and their extraction has little or no impact on forest regeneration. Since RBM’s operations started, the mining of sand dunes has been followed by a rehabilitation programme. The dune forest at Richards Bay is a narrow, young forest that only occurs on coastal sand dunes and seldom extends further inland than 500 metres from the coastline. It is a rich and diverse melting pot of species and is of special value, not only for the conservation of species, but also for the economic value it provides to society.

Sound environmental practices

RBM is a major employer and the

single largest taxpayer in KwaZulu-Natal.

RBM contributed

R8.5 billion in the last 10 years, which equates

to 5% of the province’s total gross domestic product.

RBM has invested

R73 million in new roads in local communities.

RBM is the largest mineral sands producer and beneficiation company in South Africa.

Key facts and figures

RBM has spent over

R60 million since 2006 in a collaborative effort

to improve the quality of education in host communities and in the broader region.

RBM’s improved water treatment capabilities allow for water to be reused

21 times

RBM implements real-time emissions monitoring technology to monitor its impact on air quality.

RBM has pioneered best practice in dune forest rehabilitation. RBM clears vegetation from the dunes and

a team of archaeologists, assisted by local residents, goes to work before mining begins, searching historical sites that would not otherwise have been accessible.

RBM reuses waste gas (CO) from the smelter plant as an energy source in the production process which reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Rio Tinto is a leading global supplier of titanium, zircon and high purity iron.

With Rio Tinto’s proprietary smelting techniques and international marketing links, RBM is highly competitive in markets around the world.

✴

CONTRIBUTION TO THE ECONOMYRBM is a major. employer and the single largest taxpayer in KwaZulu-Natal. Over the past 10 years, the company has contributed

R8.5 billionR R R R R R R R R

which equates to five per cent of the province’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

ENVIRONMENTRBM boasts an award-winning dune rehabilitation programme that has been running for almost

40 years

and provides the foundation for leading-edge research in dune forest conservation.

INVESTMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA

USD $1.7 billion

74%

In 2012 Rio Tinto secured a majority shareholding with a 74 per cent stake in RBM. This was the single biggest foreign direct investment in the South African mining industry up to that time.

• Rio Tinto was the first mining company to eradicate mining hostels in Phalaborwa (PMC) in the 1980s. This led to better living conditions and improved quality of life for employees.

• Rio Tinto appointed the first black South African managing director for Richards Bay Minerals.

• Rio Tinto appointed the first female managing director in the South African mining industry.

COMMITMENT TO TRANSFORMATION

LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

• RBM works in partnership with stakeholders on a host of issues, from community development to environmental management.

• R1.5 billion + spent on host community infrastructure, skills and enterprise development in the last 20 years.

• Millions spent annually on improving the quality of education in host communities and wider region.

• RBM’s enterprise development programme targets host community enterprises and over

60 small and medium size enterprises have been developed in the last two years.

• Partnerships with municipalities extend to the provision of potable water to households in host communities, contributing

R17 million since 2014.

RBM

Driving a culture of

Zero Harmacross operations and in localcommunities.

SAFETY