UK funds group wants independent water audits at Rio mines
Lenders require action on Oyu Tolgoi tailings dam seepage
Rio Tinto says committed to effective water stewardship

MELBOURNE, Feb 12 Reuters Global mining giant Rio Tinto, which sparked outrage after destroying an ancient Indigenous site in Australia in 2020, faces new pressure from socially conscious investors and lenders, this time on water practices at two of its mines.

A group representing UK pension funds, Local Authority Pension Fund Forum LAPFF, has raised concerns about the company39;s water management at its Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia and an ilmenite mine in Madagascar.

It39;s a burr in the saddle for CEO Jakob Stausholm, who was brought in to restore the company39;s social license after it blew up an Aboriginal rock shelter at Juukan Gorge.

Questions around Rio Tinto39;s environmental credentials could complicate its efforts to secure government approvals to build a lithium mine in Serbia and dig a giant copper mine in Arizona, both projects long delayed by local protests.

Rio Tinto already has significant reputational risk stemming from Juukan Gorge, so its water challenges in Madagascar and Mongolia as two pressing examples pose a huge threat of further reputational damage, LAPFF Chair Doug McMurdo told Reuters.

Given growing incidents of litigation around water management globally and tougher regulations coming into place, these challenges are also a highly financially material…