Rio Tinto's performance is set to boom in 2025 - Bauxite production hits a record, and the Simandou project achieves its first milestone of shipment

On January 21, 2026, according to foreign news, global mining giant Rio Tinto disclosed its core business progress in 2025, achieving significant breakthroughs in key product areas such as bauxite, aluminum, and lithium. Its operational performance underwent a "step change," and the milestone event of the first shipment from the large scale Simandou project in Guinea made it the annual focus topic in the global mineral industry.

The bauxite business has become one of Rio Tinto's core growth engines in 2025. Data shows that the company's annual bauxite production increased by 6% year-on-year, reaching a record high of 62.4 million tons, and the fourth quarter production also reached 15.4 million tons, continuing the trend of high output. Rio Tinto has clearly stated that the improvement in operational efficiency in 2025 achieved a "step change", and through the optimization of production processes, equipment upgrades, and compliance management and control of mining areas, it further reduced unit production costs while ensuring production growth. As the core raw material of the aluminum industry [https://www.aviationaluminum.com/], the high production of bauxite has laid a solid foundation for the growth of downstream aluminum and alumina businesses.

In 2025, Rio Tinto's aluminum and alumina production increased simultaneously, with alumina production of 1.97 million tons and aluminum production of 85,200 tons in the fourth quarter, effectively matching the global demand growth for aluminum materials in the new energy sector.

Image: https://www.aviationaluminum.com/uploads/Aluminum-182.jpeg

In the field of new energy core materials, Rio Tinto's lithium business has also delivered impressive results. The company's lithium operating assets located in Argentina achieved a record breaking quarterly production in 2025. The core of these assets is the Rincon Salt Lake Lithium Project, which Rio Tinto previously acquired for US$825 million and invested an additional US$2.5 billion for expansion. The plan is to increase the annual production capacity of battery grade lithium carbonate to 60,000 tons, with an expected mine life of 40 years.

Currently, the expansion project under construction at the Rincon project is progressing as planned. It is expected to officially commence production in 2028 and enter a ramp-up period. In the future, it will become one of the core lithium suppliers globally, providing key material support for the new energy vehicle, energy storage, and other industrial chains. Considering the global lithium market supply and demand pattern in 2025, as the new energy industry continues to expand, the capacity release of Rio Tinto's lithium business is expected to further enhance its influence in the global battery material market.

Most notably, Rio Tinto's large scale iron ore project in Simandou, Guinea, achieved its first shipment in the fourth quarter of 2025, marking a crucial milestone for this complex and large scale growth project that has been in progress for many years. As one of the world's largest proven reserves of high-quality iron ore, the Simandou iron ore project has garnered significant industry attention due to factors such as its remote location and the challenges posed by infrastructure construction. The completion of this first shipment not only signifies a major breakthrough for Rio Tinto in its mineral resource layout in Africa, but also injects new vitality into the global iron ore supply landscape. Currently, major steel producing countries such as China maintain a steady demand for high quality iron ore. The commercial operation of the Simandou project is expected to alleviate the tight supply of high quality iron ore globally, while significantly driving local economic development in Guinea.

From an industry perspective, Rio Tinto's breakthroughs across multiple business lines in 2025 align with the differentiated trends and green transformation needs of the global commodity market. In 2025, the global non-ferrous metal market exhibited robust performance, with copper, aluminum, and other varieties experiencing price strength due to tight supply demand balances. The steady performance of aluminum prices was primarily attributed to the growth of green demand, such as lightweighting in new energy vehicles and aluminum use in photovoltaic module frames, with green demand accounting for 15% of the market.

Rio Tinto's production growth in bauxite and aluminum businesses precisely matched the global demand for aluminum materials in the context of green transformation; meanwhile, its lithium business layout closely followed the development trend of the new energy industry, aligning with the core trend of global energy structure transformation.

Industry insiders analyze that Rio Tinto's impressive performance across multiple business lines in 2025 was primarily attributed to its precise layout of core mineral resources and continuous optimization of operational efficiency. As the global green transition deepens, the strategic value of key minerals such as copper, aluminum, and lithium will become more prominent.

The International Energy Agency predicts that by 2030, the proportion of green development related global aluminum demand will increase to 25%. With its capacity reserves and project advancements in aluminum, lithium, and iron ore, Rio Tinto's future growth potential is worth looking forward to. Meanwhile, the continuous advancement and capacity release of the Simandou project will serve as a significant pillar for Rio Tinto's medium and longt erm growth, further solidifying its position as a global mining giant in the industry.

Regarding future development, Rio Tinto stated that it will continue to focus on the development and operation of core mineral resources, accelerate key tasks such as the expansion of the lithium project in Argentina and the ramp-up of production capacity at the Simandou project, while strengthening green and low-carbon production capabilities to facilitate global energy transformation and the achievement of carbon neutrality goals.

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