They say "Old is Gold". Well, this is indeed true for the brands in question as Rio Tinto and Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM), who are old allies since 2000, have signed a definitive agreement for conducting the Winu Project joint venture. The striking partnership between the two firms emerged for delivering the Winu copper-gold project based in the Great Sandy Desert region of Western Australia. What's this project going to hold for the mining industry globally?
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Rio Tinto, a British-Australian multinational company also known to be the world's second-largest metal and mining corporation, had discovered a long-life copper-gold deposit back in 2017. Owing to those deposits discovered, the Winu Project came into the light, making the discovery an opportunity to expand beyond the initial development. The discovery extracted an estimated total of 741 million tonnes of indicated and inferred resources. This extracted deposit consists of a grade of 0.40 per cent copper and 0.33 grams per tonne of gold.
On the other hand, Sumitomo Metal Mining and its subsidiaries are directly related to mining, smelting and refining non-ferrous metals based in Japan and internationally. Both organisations signed the agreement, forming a final joint venture, in Perth by Katie Jackson the Copper Chief Executive of Rio Tinto and Hideyuki Okamoto, the Managing Executive Officer and General Manager of the Mineral Resources Division of SMM. The draft agreement, known to be as Term Sheet, had been signed by both firms back in December 2024, ensuring the joint venture to be formed.
The Copper Chief Executive of Rio Tinto expressed, "Our relationship with SMM began in 2000 with our partnership at the Northparkes mine in New South Wales and we look forward to bringing our combined experience and expertise to deliver the Winu project. This partnership is an excellent fit for Rio Tinto and will strengthen the project, as we continue to prioritise the strong and enduring partnerships built to date with the land’s Traditional Owners, the Nyangumarta and the Martu."
Under the agreement of forming the joint venture, Rio Tinto shall pursue to operate in Winu. For this, SMM will be providing Rio Tinto with USD 430.4 million as which is deemed to be 30 per cent equity share of the project. The breakdown of the above-mentioned amount includes USD 195 million to be paid by the later company upfront, and the rest, USD 235.4 million, will be provided in deferred considerations contingent on the future goals and prospects. This transaction is expected to end in 2025, however, the amount is highly subject to satisfactory customary conditions and regulatory approvals.
Nonetheless, both the involved parties would be working together with the common vision of striking a broader strategic partnership. This partnership will benefit both firms by exploring different opportunities in commercial, strategic collaboration for other base metals and uncovering technical breakthroughs.
The pre-feasibility study will be conducted for the Winu project, which has an initial development of processing capacity of nearly 10 million tonnes per annum by the end of 2025. This shall be successfully done after submitting the Environmental Review Document under the Western Australian EPA Environmental Impact Assessment process.
SMM Director, Managing Executive Officer, and General Manager of the Mineral Resources Division Hideyuki Okamoto said: "We are very excited to renew our long-standing partnership with Rio Tinto, and to leverage our extensive collective experience to realise the exceptional potential of the Winu project."
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