Rio Tinto To Invest A$8 Mln In Australia For Pilbara Conservation Project

(RTTNews) - Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto Plc (RTNTF, RIO, RIO.L, RTPPF) announced Wednesday its plan to invest A$8 million over five years in Pilbara conservation land management in Australia.

The company will make the investment for Pilbara Conservation Project, under a partnership with Western Australia's Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions or DBCA to enhance conservation land management. The company plans to support Traditional Owner ranger programs in Karijini and Millstream Chichester National Parks.

Through implementation of the Pilbara Conservation Strategy, the new project will protect areas of high conservation value and integrate traditional owners' knowledge of the land into conservation land management.

This includes weed management, feral animal control and bushfire management at Karijini, Millstream Chichester and other high conservation value Pilbara sites. It will also support ranger training and fee for service work for Aboriginal Ranger Groups.

Rio Tinto, DBCA and Traditional Owners have been partnering to protect the Karijini and Millstream Chichester National Parks since 2015.

Rio Tinto Vice President, Health, Safety, Environment & Communities, Cecile Thaxter said, Maintaining Pilbara biodiversity is critical not only for our business today but also for future generations within the region, and we recognise our responsibility to understand and effectively mitigate our impacts on nature through collaborative partnerships."