XML 369 R166.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.10.0.1

Borrowings and other financial liabilities - Summary of detailed information about borrowings (Parenthetical) (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Disclosure of detailed information about borrowings [Line Items]
Cumulative amount utilised from debt issuance	$ 1,600	$ 2,200
Carrying value of bonds	$ 1,600	2,200
Increase in stated percentage	1.00%
Borrowings	$ 12,752	15,176
Subsidiary borrowings	2,400	2,700
Debt instrument restrictive covenants	4,600	4,700
European debt issuance programme [member]
Disclosure of detailed information about borrowings [Line Items]
Notional amount	$ 10,000	$ 10,000

X

- Definition

The amount of bonds issued by the entity.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Name IAS
-Number 1
-IssueDate 2017-01-01
-Paragraph 112
-Subparagraph c
-URI http://eifrs.ifrs.org/eifrs/XBRL?type=IAS&num=1&date=2017-03-01&anchor=para_112_c&doctype=Standard
-URIDate 2017-03-09

+ Details

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Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

X

- Definition

The amount of outstanding funds that the entity is obligated to repay.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Name IAS
-Number 1
-IssueDate 2017-01-01
-Paragraph 55
-URI http://eifrs.ifrs.org/eifrs/XBRL?type=IAS&num=1&date=2017-03-01&anchor=para_55&doctype=Standard
-URIDate 2017-03-09

+ Details

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Period Type:	instant

X

- Definition

Line items represent concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes of the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
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X

- Definition

The nominal or face amount of a financial instrument, used to calculate payments made on that instrument.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Name IAS
-Number 1
-IssueDate 2017-01-01
-Paragraph 112
-Subparagraph c
-URI http://eifrs.ifrs.org/eifrs/XBRL?type=IAS&num=1&date=2017-03-01&anchor=para_112_c&doctype=Standard
-URIDate 2017-03-09

+ Details

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X

- Definition

Cumulative amount utilised from debt issuance.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	rio_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

X

- Definition

Debt instrument interest rate stated percentage increase.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	rio_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
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X

- Definition

Debt instruments restrictive covenants.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	rio_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

X

- Definition

Subsidiary borrowings.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rio_SubsidiaryBorrowings
Namespace Prefix:	rio_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

X

- Details

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Namespace Prefix:
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Period Type: