Rio Tinto declares a force majeure on violence-plagued Richards Bay operation

Source: Rio Tinto

The closure of Rio’s only South African business follows the murder of Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) manager Nico Swart, last month.

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"It has become impossible for us to run the business. We won’t go back until it's safe for our people," said managing director, Werner Duvenhage, adding that the company is prioritising the safety of its 5,000 workers at RBM, which exports titanium dioxide slag, used to create ingredients for products including paint, plastics, sunscreen and toothpaste.

Mining equipment and infrastructure have been destroyed and access roads blocked in recent weeks, believed to be associated with youth unemployment in the communities around the mine, he said.

The company's furnaces cannot be shut down completely, and are currently running on low power. The company is engaging with both regional and national governments to get a better understanding of the cause of the violence, Duvenhage said.

The suspension of operations at RBM is a blow to the South African government’s efforts to attract new investment to the country. Violence around RBM forced the operation to shut temporarily in 2019, with work subsequently halted on an expansion project worth around R6.6bn.