Rio Tinto greenlights $473m Richards Bay Minerals expansion after years of doubt

Rio Tinto approved a R8.5bn ($473m) expansion of its Richards Bay Minerals operation in KwaZulu-Natal on 3 March 2026, greenlighting the Zulti South project that had been stalled since 2020 because of security concerns in the area. Construction was expected to begin by the end of March 2026, with completion targeted within 30 months and first output by the end of 2028.

A vote of confidence after years of disruption

Richards Bay Minerals, which produces titanium dioxide slag, rutile, zircon and pig iron, is 74% owned by Rio Tinto, with the remaining 24% held by Blue Horizon, a consortium of investors and host communities including Mbonambi, Sokhulu, Mkhwanazi and Dube. The operation had suffered years of security-related disruption, including attacks on staff and infrastructure, that had made the Zulti South investment case untenable until security and community conditions improved sufficiently for Rio Tinto's board to commit fresh capital.

An unresolved question mark still hangs over the mine

The expansion approval came only about six months after Rio Tinto placed Richards Bay Minerals, alongside its Canadian iron and titanium operations and a US borates mine, under strategic review as part of new chief executive Simon Trott's broader reshaping of the group's portfolio. That review, disclosed in August 2025, left open the possibility that Richards Bay Minerals could ultimately be sold even as the company invests thirty months' worth of construction capital into expanding it, an unusual combination that reflects how Rio Tinto is trying to preserve and enhance the asset's value regardless of who eventually owns it.

Why it matters for South Africa

Richards Bay Minerals is one of the largest mineral sands operations in the world and a significant KwaZulu-Natal employer, so the expansion decision offers a measure of reassurance to the local economy and Rio Tinto's community-shareholder partners regardless of the eventual outcome of the group's strategic review. It also signals that South African security and community-relations conditions had improved enough by 2026 to justify one of Rio Tinto's largest project approvals in the country in years.

Community leaders from the Blue Horizon consortium welcomed the approval as recognition of the security improvements achieved in recent years, while cautioning that sustained investment, rather than a single project sign-off, would ultimately determine whether Richards Bay Minerals remains a long-term Rio Tinto asset or is eventually sold to another owner.

Sources

• Business Day: Rio Tinto closes book on years of unrest with nod for Richards Bay Minerals, 03 Mar 2026
• Mining Weekly: Rio Tinto weighs future of Richards Bay Minerals, Quebec's RTIT and US mine, 27 Aug 2025

Photo: Richards Bay in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province, home to Rio Tinto's Richards Bay Minerals mineral sands operation. MeRyan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.