Key points
- Rio Tinto shares have surged nearly 14% in a month
- The company has recently executed a deal on its Oya Tolgoi copper mine
- But Rio has been rocked by Serbia revoking an exploration licence, and a workplace culture report
The Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price has performed well over the past month despite multiple challenges.
The mining giant's shares have gained 15% since market close on 4 January. In today's trading, the company's share price closed 0.41% higher at $114.61.
Let's take a look at why the Rio Tinto share price has surged this month.
Why has Rio Tinto beat the storm?
The Rio Tinto share price has risen steadily in the past month with a few minor bumps along the way.
The shares fell on January 24 amid Serbia revoking Rio Tinto's exploration licences on its $2.4 billion lithium project. The Serbia Prime Minister stated "all permits were annulled…we put an end to Rio Tinto in Serbia", the BBC reported.
In response, Rio chief executive Jakob Stausholm expressed Rio was "very concerned" about the comments made by the Serbian PM, Reuters reported.
I'm very proud of what we've done there. We have always followed the laws and regulation in Serbia as we focused on that amazing project.
On Monday, the company released a review of its workplace culture. The report included findings of bullying, racism, and sexual assault.
Leadership is promising to implement change and put in place all recommendations of the report. WA Mines Minister Bill Johnston has urged other companies to follow Rio Tinto's lead, the Western Australian reported.
The report does not seem to have adversely impacted the company's share price, with Rio Tinto shares gaining around 5% since February 1.
A lot has also gone right for the company in the past month.
On January 25, Rio announced it had made a deal with stakeholders to restart work at its Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia. This is predicted to be the fourth biggest copper mine in the world by 2030.
Rio's share price inched slightly higher on the back of its quarterly trading update. Pilbara iron ore shipments fell 5% to 84.1 million tonnes (Mt).
Copper and aluminum volume also declined. However, Rio forecast iron ore shipments of 320Mt–335Mt in 2022 and copper production of 500kt–575kt.
The iron ore price increased from US$117 per tonne at market close on 4 January to US$143.50 per tonne on 3 February. That's a 22.6% increase. Copper has also edged 0.44% higher in the same time period.
Rio Tinto share price snap shot
The Rio Tinto share price has only risen about 0.3% in the past 12 months but has increased nearly 5% in the past week alone.
For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned around 5% over the past 12 months.
Rio has a market capitalisation of $42 billion based on its current share price.
