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Share capital - Rio Tinto Limited - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2019 | Dec. 31, 2018 | Dec. 31, 2017
Disclosure of classes of share capital [line items] |  |  |
Number of shares held | 0 | 0 | 0
Rio Tinto Limited [Member] |  |  |
Disclosure of classes of share capital [line items] |  |  |
Value of shares purchased by employee share ownership trusts | $ 63 | $ 114 | $ 38
Number of shares held | 944,467 |  |

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- Definition The number of shares in the entity held by the entity or by its subsidiaries or associates. [Refer: Associates [member]; Subsidiaries [member]] + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Name IAS -Number 1 -IssueDate 2019-01-01 -Paragraph 79 -Subparagraph a -Clause vi -URI http://eifrs.ifrs.org/eifrs/xifrs-link?type=IAS&num=1&code=ifrs-tx-2019-en-r&anchor=para_79_a_vi&doctype=Standard -URIDate 2019-03-27 + Details
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