Rio Tinto Serbia Highlights Innovating to Develop New Resources

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1 Rio Tinto Serbia Highlights Innovating to Develop New Resources Upgraded Jadar Resources Photo: Village nearby Loznica, West Serbia (M. Ristovic) Kevork Chouzadjian, VP Project Development, Rio Tinto Borates In Q1 2017, we reached an important milestone in the development of the Jadar Project. We upgraded the resource estimation to 136 million tonnes, a 16 percent increase compared to our 2015 estimate. Increasing our confidence in the ore body and the technical aspects of the project helps Jadar remain an attractive investment in Rio Tinto s project portfolio. On our development journey of this lithium-borate project near Loznica, we have continued to develop a new processing technology for the unique mineral Jadarite. A mixed team of Serbian, American and Australian professionals have been testing a new processing test plant in Australia. As this exciting work continues, our Serbian and global Jadar project team continues to grow in order to progress other aspects of the study work. With many geological, technical and socio-economic studies underway, our work in Prefeasibility continues through the end of the year. One of our next major milestones is to obtain a certificate of resources and reserves from the Government of Serbia. This certificate will help strengthen our position for future investments in the Jadar project in Serbia. We aim to achieve all of this while maintaining our impeccable safety record. Our project team in Serbia recently reached five years and over 700,000 working hours without a lost time injury. We will keep our strong focus on safety as project activities progress. In this issue Safety First Update from the Field Working with the Community Innovation and Technology Our People News Briefs

2 Sa fety First Five years safety milestone achievement The Rio Tinto project team in Serbia reached five years without a lost time injury-free on 25 January In the same period, we reached more than 700,000 safe working hours. Both milestones were accomplished through strong teamwork and full compliance with both Serbian health and safety regulations and Rio Tinto standards, including Rio Tinto s Zero Harm and Critical Risk Management (CRM) programmes. Rio Tinto s robust standards are comprehensive and focus on all stakeholders internal and external. They establish requirements for safety and health in the workplace, to ensure we work with our communities for mutual benefit, and to protect the environment where we work. Photo: Rio Tinto safety gear, detail (A. Stojanovic) These standards provide the foundation for all Rio Tinto businesses to manage the things that matter most to every employee and contractor working in the business. The standards also address how we manage critical risks in the workplace through our Critical Risk Management programme. For more information on our safety programme, visit Rio Tinto s website: ourcommitment/our-people aspx Health & Safety Statistics The safety milestones surpassed by the Rio Tinto project team in Serbia have kept the project s all injury frequency rate a 0.29 to date. These results were a continuation of the exemplary results over 16 years of operations in Serbia. Over this 16 year period, the team achieved over working hours with only one injury. As a result, we have proudly submitted a nomination for the National Health and Safety at Work Award Charter 28 April granted by the Republic of Serbia to an employer with significant safety achievements. Let the best win!

3 Update from the field HIGHLIGHTS: Rio Tinto has upgraded Jadar Mineral Resource to 136 million tonnes Further strengthens our confidence in the Jadar project Jadarite is a new mineral and source of both lithium and borates Increase to Jadar Mineral Resources Photo: A unique Serbian mineral Jadarite (M. Ristovic) Our Jadar project in Serbia recently reached another milestone on the lithium-borate project s development journey when Rio Tinto upgraded the mineral resource to 136 million tonnes. This upgrade was based on 3D seismic work, improved understanding of the lithostratigraphy (*geological discipline associated with the study of rock layers) and mineralisation, and other orebody knowledge activities. Jadar s mineral resources have increased 16 percent from 117Mt to 136Mt, a 19Mt difference, and includes the first release of Indicated resource. This work has further strengthened our understanding of the orebody and the project s overall technical and economic viability. The updated mineral resources are reported in accordance with international standards and specifically the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, 2012 (JORC Code) and the ASX Listing Rules. The Jadar project in Serbia is a world-class lithium-borate deposit, and if developed could supply a significant proportion of global demand for lithium and borates. Findings so far are encouraging and we are progressing the work required to confirm the business case and progress the project approvals. Simon Trott, Managing Director, Rio Tinto Salt, Uranium and Borates More information about Jadar s resource upgrade can be found here: Photos: Rio Tinto drilling rig nearby Loznica, Serbia (M. Ristovic)

4 Working with the Community Progressing socio-economic and environmental baseline studies The Jadar Project is in the Prefeasibility study phase, which requires the completion of technical studies, as well as environmental and socio-economic baseline and impact studies. This work to evaluate and understand the potential impact of the project on both the physical and social environment is underway. The studies are being conducted in accordance with the highest international standards and in accordance with the legal framework of the Republic of Serbia. Information gathered through the baseline and impact assessment studies will be used to make decisions about the final design of the project and how we will manage, mitigate and minimise the impact of the project. These studies will cover a number of areas: air quality, noise and vibration, terrestrial ecology, aquatic ecology, soil and geology, surface and underground water, landscape and visual impact of the project, transport, cultural heritage and other socio-economic areas. Project definition Baseline Impact assessment Impact management The complex socio-economic studies will be completed using input from our stakeholders. We are seeking this input through surveys and interviews with individuals and groups on the region of Loznica and surrounding areas. We take this opportunity to thank all those who have or will participate in these extensive studies. All additional information on these and other studies are available at the Rio Tinto Information Centre in Loznica (Gimnazijska Street No. 4). Photo: Rio Tinto Information Centre in Loznica (A. Stojanovic)

5 Innovation and technology Photo: H.E. Ambassadors visiting the BICCPP in Australia Pilot Plant operations update Following the discovery of the new mineral Jadarite, a team of Rio Tinto technology engineers have been developing a new mineral processing technology in order to extract borates and lithium from the ore. For this purpose, Rio Tinto has built a special test or pilot plant facility based in Australia. This processing facility, called the Bundoora Integrated Continuous Chemical Pilot Plant (BICCPP), represents a collective effort of Australian, Serbian and American professionals. Since the last newsletter, the task of recruiting and training of operators and commissioning the small scale pilot plant has commenced under the watchful eye of James Davidson, the BICCPP Superintendent. Assembling the BICCPP has been staged to ensure that each of the key process stages is fully functioning. Commissioning is due to be completed in March, with continuous operations running through April and May and results available in June. The data generated from the BICCPP will form a number of inputs into the Prefeasibility Study and further support the development of the overall Jadar project. Mrs. Julia Feeney, Australian Ambassador to Serbia and Mr. Miroljub Petrović, Serbian Ambassador to Australia, visited the BICCPP on 31 March 2017, where they were welcomed and hosted by the team of BICCPP engineers, Simon Trott - Managing Director for Rio Tinto Borates, Salt and Uranium, and Mr. Kevork Chouzadijan - Vice President Project Development for Rio Tinto Borates.

6 Our people Jadar Team is expanding Photo: Rio Tinto employees in Serbia (M. Ristovic) Our team in Serbia and other locations around the world continues to grow in order to progress the Jadar project. Since the end of 2016, several specialists have joined us in the fields of construction, operational readiness, commercial and mine planning. We welcome them warmly, and appreciate the many ways they are individually and collectively contributing to our work. Launch of the Graduate Programme in Serbia Rio Tinto Serbia recently initiated the recruitment of graduates as part of Rio Tinto s global graduate programme. In Serbia, we are hiring graduates in three distinct business areas: environment and communities, technical and finance. Rio Tinto s graduate programme is a structured, two-year development journey, meant to ensure we attract rising talent in the local market. This helps us build our capabilities for the future and ensure the graduates are well-equipped and prepared to work within the global environment of Rio Tinto. Graduate recruitment is one of the strongest employer branding statements companies can make in a local market. It sends a strong message of the belief in the local talent pool and a willingness to invest in developing local talent. News brief New Belgrade premises As of 1 April 2017, Rio Tinto s Jadar Project Team in Serbia will be based on a new location at Resavska 23 Street in the centre of Belgrade. New telephone numbers are: to 435 contact: Serbia@riotinto.com