SIMON Trott has wasted little time implementing his inaugural strategic overhaul at Rio Tinto, announcing last week a comprehensive restructuring targeting the miner’s underperforming titanium operations just days into his tenure as CEO, reported Reuters.
The shake-up places the company’s titanium (Richards Bay Minerals) and borates divisions under strategic review for potential sale. Cutting the titanium unit represents “low-hanging fruit” given its weak pricing and disappointing returns, sources told Reuters. Chief Commercial Officer Bold Baatar will oversee the review process.
Trott’s maiden strategic move divides Rio Tinto into three streamlined business units designed to concentrate resources on the most lucrative operations as commodity prices soften. The iron ore division, the company’s primary profit engine, will be led by Matthew Holcz and will merge Australian operations with Canadian assets, eventually incorporating Guinea’s Simandou project, said Reuters.
Jerome Pecresse takes charge of a combined aluminium and lithium unit, encompassing the recently completed Arcadium Lithium acquisition, whilst Katie Jackson remains at the helm of copper operations focused on ramping up Mongolia’s Oyu Tolgoi mine.
The timing coincides with veteran executive Sinead Kaufman’s departure from Rio Tinto after nearly three decades with the company. Kaufman, who heads the minerals division containing the titanium business, will step down at October’s end as the strategic review of her former portfolio proceeds.
RBC Capital Markets described the review as having “relatively narrow” scope, though analysts noted that divesting titanium and borates assets represents sensible portfolio pruning amid capital allocation pressures from the miner’s lithium project pipeline.
Meanwhile, Kellie Parker’s CEO Australia position, which oversees health, safety and mine closure activities, faces redundancy under the streamlined structure, with her duties being redistributed during a transition phase, said the newswire.
