Global iron ore giant Rio Tinto Group welcomes a new leader in China.
On August 1st, Rio Tinto (China) announced that Xu Feng officially became the CEO of Rio Tinto China today. Former CEO of Rio Tinto China, Ren Binyan, will continue to serve as Honorary Chairman of Rio Tinto China until his retirement on March 1, 2025.
The new leader Xu Feng joined Rio Tinto Group in 2021 as the President of Business Development China, responsible for the development of Rio Tinto's overseas mines and metal projects.
Rio Tinto stated that under the leadership of Xu Feng, Rio Tinto has successfully strengthened its strategic relationships with key partners, among which the Simandou project is one of his most outstanding achievements.
On July 16th, Rio Tinto announced that all conditions for its participation in the investment and development of the Guinea Simandou iron ore infrastructure project have been met, and necessary approvals from Guinea and Chinese regulatory authorities have been completed. The related transaction is expected to be delivered this week.
The Simandou iron mine is located in southeastern Guinea and is one of the largest and highest quality undeveloped iron mines in the world. The average grade of iron ore is over 65%, and it has an initial annual production capacity of 120 million tons of high-quality iron ore.
Simfer, Win Alliance, China Baowu, and the government of Guinea will jointly participate in the infrastructure project development of the Simandou iron mine.
Before joining Rio Tinto Group, Xu Feng served as the Managing Director of the China Investment Banking Department of Montreal Bank Financial Group, and held senior management positions at companies such as Barclays Capital Asia, BHP Billiton, China Minmetals Corporation, and China Nonferrous Metals Industry Corporation.
According to the official website, Ren Binyan holds a doctoral degree in engineering. In 2010, Ren Binyan was appointed as the Vice President of Rio Tinto China. Three years later, he will be appointed as the President and CEO of Rio Tinto China.
Prior to joining Rio Tinto, Ren Binyan held leadership positions in several large multinational resource and financial services companies, with work locations in Australia, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He previously served as Vice President of Alcoa China and Chief Representative of Anglo American Nonferrous Metals Group in China.
Ren Binyan is a member of the Australian Board of Directors Association. In 2015, Ren Binyan was appointed as an external director of the Board of Directors of China Merchants Group, a member of the Audit and Risk Management Committee, and a member of the Nomination Committee. From 2008 to 2014, he was an external director of the Board of Directors of China middling coal Energy Group.
During Ren Binyan's tenure, Rio Tinto signed a memorandum of understanding with Dalian Port Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Liaoning Port Group, in September 2020 to carry out bonded blending business for Rio Tinto's blended powder (RTBF).
This is the first time that domestic ports have carried out bonded blending operations for "multi country, multi mineral" iron ore products, and also Rio Tinto's first bonded blending business in Chinese ports.
In addition, Rio Tinto established the China Technology and Innovation Centre in Beijing in March 2022.
Ren Binyan stated at the time that China had become Rio Tinto's most important market, and Rio Tinto had full confidence in China's manufacturing industry. We will always be committed to developing extensive mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation with our Chinese partners. The establishment of Rio Tinto's Technology and Innovation Center is an example
Last month, Rio Tinto announced that it would ship a total of 4 billion tons of iron ore to China. Rio Tinto stated that the latest shipment of iron ore was sent from Pilbara, Western Australia. The ship was loaded onto the ship at Dampier Port on July 19th and will be transported to China Baowu Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd. (China Baowu).
Xipo Iron Mine is Rio Tinto's latest developed mine and also the latest joint venture project with China Baowu. The mine is expected to be put into operation in 2025, with an annual production capacity of 25 million tons of iron ore.
According to the first half of 2024 financial report, Rio Tinto's revenue was $26.802 billion, a year-on-year increase of 0.5%, net profit was $5.81 billion, a year-on-year increase of 14%, and EBITDA was $12.093 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3%. The interim dividend per share was $1.77.