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Rio Tinto financial information by business unit
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Disclosure Of Financial Information By Business Unit [Abstract]  
Rio Tinto financial information by business unit


Gross revenue(a)
for the year ended
31 December
Underlying EBITDA(b)
for the year ended
31 December
Net earnings(c)
for the year
ended 31 December
Rio Tinto
interest
%
2020
US$m
2019
US$m
2018
US$m
2020
US$m
2019
US$m
2018
US$m
2020
US$m
2019
US$m
2018
US$m
Iron Ore
Pilbara
(d)27,027 23,681 18,359 18,896 15,936 11,267 11,551 9,619 6,460 
Dampier Salt
68.4 252 271 246 43 75 56 12 27 18 
Evaluation projects/other
(e)657 123 126 (32)87 55 (112)(8)53 
Intra-segment(e)(428)— — (70)— — (53)— — 
Total Iron Ore
27,508 24,075 18,731 18,837 16,098 11,378 11,398 9,638 6,531 

Aluminium
(f)
Bauxite
2,302 2,490 2,364 943 1,045 852 434 498 466 
Alumina
2,233 2,720 3,423 262 567 808 92 247 390 
Primary Metal
4,489 4,940 6,468 904 755 1,418 169 40 595 
Pacific Aluminium
1,944 2,204 2,541 112 (22)148 (6)(137)— 
Intra-segment and other(2,510)(3,079)(4,084)6 30 (92)(159)21 (69)
Integrated operations
8,458 9,275 10,712 2,227 2,375 3,134 530 669 1,382 
Other product group items
856 1,065 1,479 7 16 17 (5)10 11 
Product group operations
9,314 10,340 12,191 2,234 2,391 3,151 525 679 1,393 
Evaluation projects/other
— — — (82)(106)(56)(54)(80)(46)
Total Aluminium
9,314 10,340 12,191 2,152 2,285 3,095 471 599 1,347 

Copper & Diamonds
Rio Tinto Kennecott
100.0 1,529 1,879 1,862 588 843 785 149 397 293 
Escondida
30.0 2,296 2,136 2,274 1,462 1,034 1,301 650 325 506 
Grasberg joint venture
(h)— — 457 — — 281 — — 217 
Oyu Tolgoi and Turquoise Hill
(i)1,078 1,166 1,180 390 357 375 160 25 69 
Diamonds
(j)459 619 695 83 151 301 9 (21)118 
Product group operations
5,362 5,800 6,468 2,523 2,385 3,043 968 726 1,203 
Evaluation projects/other
66 15 — (351)(312)(267)(205)(172)(149)
Total Copper & Diamonds
5,428 5,815 6,468 2,172 2,073 2,776 763 554 1,054 

Energy & Minerals
Rio Tinto Coal Australia
(k)— — 989 — — 893 — — 591 
Iron Ore Company of Canada
58.7 2,444 2,189 1,583 1,130 1,024 586 383 332 166 
Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium
(l)1,651 1,938 1,782 476 611 510 216 254 174 
Rio Tinto Borates
100.0 564 593 622 126 180 197 65 96 111 
Uranium
(m)303 375 415 24 55 18 6 25 (4)
Product group operations
4,962 5,095 5,391 1,756 1,870 2,204 670 707 1,038 
Simandou iron ore project
(n)— — — (14)(12)(15)(6)(5)(7)
Evaluation projects/other
52 55 60 (96)(96)(49)(87)(91)(36)
Total Energy & Minerals
5,014 5,150 5,451 1,646 1,762 2,140 577 611 995 

Other operations
(o)18 18 9 — (77)(70)(54)(89)(102)

Inter-segment transactions
(264)(31)(15)(94)(9)— (32)(3)— 

Product group total
47,018 45,367 42,835 24,713 22,132 19,319 13,123 11,310 9,825 

Central pension costs, share-based payments and insurance
72 59 (128)81 60 (90)
Restructuring, project and one-off costs
(133)(183)(272)(108)(94)(190)
Central costs
(500)(496)(552)(418)(550)(410)
Exploration and evaluation
(250)(315)(231)(216)(231)(193)
Net interest
(14)(122)(134)
Underlying EBITDA/earnings
23,902 21,197 18,136 12,448 10,373 8,808 
Items excluded from underlying EBITDA/earnings(395)(722)5,127 (2,679)(2,363)4,830 
Reconciliation to Group income statement
Share of equity accounted unit sales and
intra-subsidiary/equity accounted unit sales
(2,407)(2,202)(2,313)
Impairment charges
(1,272)(3,487)(132)
Depreciation and amortisation in subsidiaries
excluding capitalised depreciation
(4,074)(4,272)(3,909)
Depreciation and amortisation in equity accounted units
(576)(653)(650)
Taxation and finance items in equity accounted units
(443)(296)(372)
Finance items(1,751)(648)(33)
Consolidated sales revenue/profit before taxation/net earnings44,611 43,165 40,522 15,391 11,119 18,167 9,769 8,010 13,638 

Capital expenditure(o)
for the year
ended 31 December
Depreciation and
amortisation for the year
ended 31 December
Operating assets(p)
as at 31 December
Employees
for the year
ended 31 December

Rio Tinto
interest
%
2020
US$m
2019
US$m
2018
US$m
2020
US$m
2019
US$m
2018
US$m
2020
US$m
2019
US$m
2018
US$m
2020
2019
2018
Iron Ore
Pilbara
(d)2,919 1,720 1,288 1,819 1,704 1,682 16,253 13,865 14,486 11,522 10,634 10,422 
Dampier Salt
68.4 22 21 14 19 19 20 163 152 165 351 347 239 
Evaluation projects/other
(e)— — — — — — 338 2 2 10 — — 
Intra-segment(e)— — — — — — (104)— — — — — 
Total Iron Ore
2,941 1,741 1,302 1,838 1,723 1,702 16,650 14,019 14,653 11,883 10,981 10,661 

Aluminium
(f)
Bauxite
142 387 953 290 286 165 2,593 2,597 2,494 2,853 2,940 2,676 
Alumina
228 282 218 138 187 194 2,294 2,009 2,721 2,383 2,269 2,009 
Primary Metal
602 658 595 643 682 615 9,361 9,674 9,306 6,282 6,357 6,497 
Pacific Aluminium
114 129 115 119 154 149 455 970 1,156 2,469 2,356 2,278 
Intra-segment and other(1)— — 1 — (1)662 780 769 141 127 180 
Integrated operations
1,085 1,456 1,881 1,191 1,309 1,122 15,365 16,030 16,446 14,128 14,049 13,640 
Other product group items
(g)— — (508)— — — — — — — — — 
Product group operations

1,085 1,456 1,373 1,191 1,309 1,122 15,365 16,030 16,446 14,128 14,049 13,640 
Evaluation projects/other

— — — — 3 — — — — — — — 
Total Aluminium
1,085 1,456 1,373 1,191 1,312 1,122 15,365 16,030 16,446 14,128 14,049 13,640 

Copper & Diamonds
Rio Tinto Kennecott
100.0 618 444 318 472 457 427 2,317 2,012 1,864 2,171 2,066 1,993 
Escondida
30.0 178 315 302 428 508 518 2,726 2,871 3,057 1,124 1,068 1,087 
Grasberg joint venture
(h)— — 171 — — 30 — — — — — 1,615 
Oyu Tolgoi and Turquoise Hill
(i)1,038 1,289 1,284 189 208 219 8,111 6,780 6,072 3,450 3,152 2,863 
Diamonds
(j)25 38 64 60 144 118 (7)195 267 885 940 967 
Product group operations
1,859 2,086 2,139 1,149 1,317 1,312 13,147 11,858 11,260 7,630 7,226 8,525 
Evaluation projects/other
5 1 11 4 3 5 192 152 129 159 150 146 
Total Copper & Diamonds
1,864 2,087 2,150 1,153 1,320 1,317 13,339 12,010 11,389 7,789 7,376 8,671 

Energy & Minerals
Rio Tinto Coal Australia
(k)— — 32 — — 34 — — (837)— — 1,005 
Iron Ore Company of Canada
58.7 243 255 189 170 172 154 1,009 803 975 2,716 2,617 2,397 
Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium
(l)144 249 169 173 193 201 3,390 3,507 3,390 4,151 4,115 4,058 
Rio Tinto Borates
100.0 42 43 44 49 60 62 502 525 518 966 924 980 
Uranium
(m)— 5 8 — 3 4 (71)(363)(406)364 857 1,324 
Product group operations
429 552 442 392 428 455 4,830 4,472 3,640 8,197 8,513 9,764 
Simandou iron ore project
(n)(2)(1)— — — — 16 20 15 69 74 70 
Evaluation projects/other
1 — — — — — 33 37 41 77 53 33 
Total Energy & Minerals
428 551 442 392 428 455 4,879 4,529 3,696 8,343 8,640 9,867 

Other operations
(o)2 (4)12 199 177 26 (479)(83)(442)124 159 187 
Inter-segment transactions
129 127 129 
Product group total
6,320 5,831 5,279 4,773 4,960 4,622 49,883 46,632 45,871 42,267 41,205 43,026 

Net assets of disposal groups held for sale(r)— — 440 
Other items
79 64 65 82 77 43 (2,165)(2,449)(2,880)5,207 4,802 4,432 
Less: equity accounted units
(255)(456)(500)(576)(653)(650)— — — — — — 
Total
6,144 5,439 4,844 4,279 4,384 4,015 47,718 44,183 43,431 47,474 46,007 47,458 
Add back: Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment45 49 586 
Total capital expenditure per cash flow statement
6,189 5,488 5,430 
Less: Net (debt)/cash
(664)(3,651)255 
Equity attributable to owners of Rio Tinto47,054 40,532 43,686 
Business units are classified according to the Group’s management structure.
The disclosures in this note include certain Alternative performance measures (APMs). For more information on the APMs used by the Group, including definitions and calculations, please refer to pages 329-333.
(a)Gross product sales includes the sales revenue of equity accounted units on a proportionately consolidated basis (after adjusting for sales to subsidiaries) in addition to consolidated sales. Consolidated sales revenue includes subsidiary sales to equity accounted units which are not included in gross product sales.
(b)Underlying EBITDA of subsidiaries and the Group’s share relating to equity accounted units represents earnings attributable to owners of Rio Tinto before: tax, net finance items, depreciation and amortisation charged to the income statement in the period and excludes the EBITDA impact of the same items that are excluded from underlying earnings as defined in note 2.
(c)Represents profit after tax for the period attributable to the owners of the Rio Tinto Group. Business unit earnings are stated before finance items but after the amortisation of discount related to provisions. Earnings attributed to business units do not include amounts that are excluded in arriving at underlying earnings.
(d)Pilbara represents the Group’s 100% holding in Hamersley, 50% holding in Hope Downs Joint Venture and 65% holding in Robe River Iron Associates. The Group’s net beneficial interest in Robe River Iron Associates is 53%, as 30% is held through a 60% owned subsidiary and 35% is held through a 100% owned subsidiary.
(e)Gross product sales, Underlying EBITDA, Net Earnings and Operating assets within Evaluation projects/other include activities relating to the shipment and blending of Pilbara and Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) iron ore inventories held at portside in China and sold to domestic customers. Transactions between the Pilbara and our portside trading business are eliminated through the Iron Ore "intra-segment" line and transactions between IOC and the portside trading business are eliminated through "inter-segment transactions".
(f)In order to reflect the evolution of the Aluminium business, the following changes have been implemented:
–The consolidation line for Bauxite & Alumina has been removed to reflect the less integrated nature of the business and the evolution of the Bauxite business towards a primarily export oriented operation. As a result of this change, the intra-group segment elimination for Gross product sales, Underlying EBITDA, Net Earnings and Operating assets between bauxite and alumina are now reported on line "Intra-segment and other". The intra-segment eliminations for the year ended 31 December 2020 would have been US$722 million, US$31 million, US$21 million and US$7 million respectively. For the year ended 31 December 2019 the eliminations were US$825 million, US$10 million, US$7 million and US$27 million. For the year ended 31 December 2018 the eliminations were US$861 million, US$7 million, US$5 million and US$20 million.
–The Underlying EBITDA and Net Earnings have been restated to include the impact of the legacy alumina contracts (2019: US$218 million and US$171 million, respectively; 2018: US$457 million and US$355 million, respectively) in the Alumina business instead of being included in the Other product group items line, in order to provide a comprehensive view of the performance of the Alumina business.
–The Gross product sales, Underlying EBITDA and Net Earnings have been restated to reallocate the margin generated by internal shipping activities to Bauxite (2019: US$31 million, US$76 million and US$57 million, respectively; 2018: US$40 million, US$62 million and US$54 million, respectively) and Alumina businesses (2019: US$63 million, US$157 million and US$117 million, respectively; 2018: US$83 million, US$128 million and US$111 million, respectively), instead of being included in the Evaluation project/other line in order to provide a comprehensive view of the performance of the Bauxite and Alumina businesses.
Gross product sales, Underlying EBITDA, Net Earnings and Operating assets of the overall Rio Tinto Aluminium business were not impacted by these changes.
(g)In 2018, Aluminium capital expenditure was reported net of US$508 million proceeds received from the sale of surplus land at Kitimat. These proceeds were not included in Aluminium’s free cash flow and the associated gain was excluded from business unit earnings and Underlying EBITDA.
(h)Through a joint venture agreement with Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (Freeport), we were entitled to 40% of material mined above an agreed threshold as a consequence of expansions and developments of the Grasberg facilities since 1998 (until 21 December 2018). On 21 December 2018, we sold our entire interest in the Grasberg mine to PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Persero) (Inalum).
(i)Our interest in Oyu Tolgoi is held indirectly through our 50.8% investment in Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd (TRQ), where TRQ’s principal asset is its 66% investment in Oyu Tolgoi LLC, which owns the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine.
(j)Includes our interests in Argyle (100%) and Diavik (60%).
(k)Includes our 82% interest in the Hail Creek coal mine (until 1 August 2018), our 80% interest in the Kestrel underground coal mine (until 1 August 2018) and interests in the Winchester South (until 1 June 2018) and Valeria development projects (until 1 August 2018).
On 1 June 2018, we sold our entire 75% interest in the Winchester South coal development project in Queensland, Australia, to Whitehaven Coal Limited for US$200 million.
On 1 August 2018, we sold our entire 82% interest in the Hail Creek coal mine and 71.2% interest in the Valeria coal development project in Queensland, Australia, to Glencore for US$1.7 billion.
On 1 August 2018, we sold our entire 80% interest in the Kestrel underground coal mine in Queensland, Australia, to a consortium comprising private equity manager EMR Capital (EMR) and PT Adaro Energy Tbk (Adaro), an Indonesian listed coal company, for US$2.25 billion.
Rio Tinto Coal Australia’s operating assets of US$(837) million at 31 December 2018 included provisions for onerous contracts in relation to rail infrastructure capacity and capital gains tax payable on the divestments announced in the year, partly offset by financial assets and receivables relating to contingent royalties and disposal proceeds. Following a change in management responsibility in 2019, these amounts are reported within "Other operations" at 31 December 2020 and 31 December 2019, with no restatement of the 31 December 2018 comparative amount.
(l)Includes our interests in Rio Tinto Fer et Titane (100%), QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM, 80%) and Richards Bay Minerals (attributable interest of 74%).