Why is mining giant Rio Tinto pushing ahead on a nearly impossible project? Possibly because China wants it done.
Illustration by Sam Ward
On a Friday morning in April this year, Simon Thompson, the outgoing global chair of the mining giant Rio Tinto, addressed the company’s shareholders in London for the last time. Thompson, who chose not to stand for re-election after Rio Tinto destroyed an ancient Aboriginal site in Western Australia in 2020, spoke with the somber optimism of a leader emerging from scandal and vowing to do better.
But amidst talk of “transition,” “rebuilding” and “strengthening,” ThompsonR
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