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Events/Merger · 1995

RTZ and CRA form a dual listed group

Merger, 1995, United Kingdom.

What happened

The RTZ Corporation PLC merged with ConZinc RioTinto of Australia (CRA) in 1995 to form RTZ-CRA, in a dual listed company structure across the UK and Australia.1,2

Why it matters

The structure still joins Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited.1,2

Story cards

Around the same time

  1. Port Hedland development programme begins

    A large expansion for iron ore export began in 1965.3

  2. Kambalda West townsite established

    A second townsite was set up 4 km west of the original.4

  3. Erdenet mining company: Wikidata inception date

    The Mongolian copper company is dated to 1974 in Wikidata.5

  4. International Tin Council collapse

    It ended a long-running producer and consumer agreement.2,6,7

  5. Northparkes block cave air blast

    Northparkes was the first block caving mine in Australia, and the Coroner's findings shaped how block caving is regulated there.8,9

  6. Wittenoom degazetted

    The former town lost its gazetted status.10

  7. Soma mine disaster

    Soma mine disaster. Wikidata records 301 deaths.11

  8. Indonesia exports about 19 Mt of bauxite, all to China

    USGS records about 19 Mt of Indonesian bauxite exports in 2022, all to China.12

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Where next

Mines

OwnedArgyle diamond mineRio Tinto ran Argyle until its last day of mining on 3 November 2020.13OwnedBingham CanyonRio Tinto operates Bingham Canyon and reported 133.6 kt of refined copper for Kennecott in 2025.14

Events

Came out ofRio Tinto Company registered in LondonThe 1873 company is the origin of today's Rio Tinto, which merged with CRA in 1995.1

Sources

  1. History of Rio Tinto
  2. London (item Q84), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  3. Our History Town of Port Hedland
  4. Mining and Energy Western Australia: Nickel State Library of Western Australia
  5. Wikidata item Q933606 (Erdenet Mining Corporation)
  6. Tin written answer, 29 October 1985 UK Parliament (Hansard)
  7. The Collapse of Tin: Restructuring a Failed Commodity Agreement (abstract) American Journal of International Law (Cambridge University Press)
  8. 1999 Northparkes Air Blast case study (Learning from disasters) NSW Resources Regulator
  9. Parkes (item Q605513), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  10. Information on the former town of Wittenoom Government of Western Australia
  11. Wikidata item Q16869476 (Soma mine disaster)
  12. 2022 Minerals Yearbook: Indonesia [Advance Release] U.S. Geological Survey
  13. Argyle closure page Rio Tinto
  14. Kennecott operation page Rio Tinto

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Pictures: Timna in de Negevwoestijn; rotspartij "de zuilen van Salomo", Poll, Willem van de / Europeana (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Dolcoath tin mine, Camborne, Cornwall: miners in a mine shaft, standing on wooden platforms connected by ladders. Photograph by J. C. Burrow, 1890/1910., Burrow, J. C., 1852-1914 (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Earth Observations taken by the Expedition 15 Crew, NASA JSC (Public domain (NASA media, no copyright)); Mijnramp Bois du Caizier, Marcinelle, België. Schacht, Rossem, Wim van / Anefo / Europeana (Public Domain Mark 1.0).