August has brought a blow to the Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price despite the company staying relatively quiet.
Having ended July trading at $133.42, the Rio Tinto share price is now $112.92. It has slipped another 0.18% today.
Perhaps most peculiar is the fact there doesn't seem to be any particular catalyst for Rio Tinto's woes. Though, the company has recently had some bad press.
Let's take a look at what the resource giant has been up to lately.
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What's weighing on the Rio Tinto share price?
The Rio Tinto share price had a rough trot in August. It has fallen about 15% between the end of July and the time of writing.
Rio Tinto has only released one announcement to the market in August. Last Tuesday it announced it was restarting its Richards Bay Minerals operation in South Africa after the security situation surrounding the mine stabilised.
While it's not exactly ground-breaking news, Rio Tinto's stock gained 1.3% last Tuesday.
Other news that might have moved the Rio Tinto share price in August was its earnings for the first half of 2021, which were released during the final days of July.
The 6 months ended 30 June 2021 was a good period for Rio Tinto. It saw US$33.08 billion in sales revenue and US$12.2 million in underlying earnings.
Additionally, Rio Tinto announced it's investing $2.4 billion into a Serbia-based lithium project.
Despite the company's seemingly strong performance and exciting news, the Rio Tinto share price dipped 0.1% on the back of its results.
Bad press
The small mountain of bad press that's surrounded Rio Tinto lately likely isn't helping its recover from its bad month on the ASX.
As the Motley Fool Australia covered recently, it has been reported that the company's $1.4 billion cost blowout at the Oyu Tolgoi mine was caused by mismanagement rather than challenging conditions, as Rio Tinto claimed.
Additionally, Rio Tinto's name has come up at the Western Australian parliamentary inquiry into sexual harassment against women in the FIFO mining industry. Those interested can read Rio Tinto's submission to the inquiry here.
Finally, Rio Tinto is also in the headlines as, according to the Australian Financial Review, its planned lithium mine in Serbia has sparked protests in the European nation
Rio Tinto share price snapshot
Rio Tinto's poor month on the ASX has seen it back into the long-term red.
Right now, its share price is about 2% lower than it was at the start of 2021. However, it's still about 15% higher than it was this time last year.
