Rio Tinto focuses on innovation and a net-zero future

Before Audrey Goulet began working with Montréal-based Rio Tinto as a project management consultant, she knew nothing about mining. “I thought it was just trucks, rocks and conveyors, but once I got here, I learned that it’s so much more,” she says.

Rio Tinto is the largest mining and metals company operating in Canada. Previously, Goulet had worked in the food industry, then with an engineering consultant who had mining clients. “When I worked with Rio Tinto as a consultant, I met so many interesting, talented, knowledgeable people,” she says.

It was a natural transition, then, for Goulet to join Rio Tinto in 2018 on what was initially a one-year contract that opened into a full-time position at the company’s Boron, Calif., office. Born and raised in Québec, she was happy to return to Sorel-Tracy, northeast of Montréal, in 2021, where she knew most of the team from her consultant work. Two years later, she became a project manager on the minerals process decarbonization team.

Rio Tinto’s consistency in investing in innovation and R&D attracted Marie-Pierre Paquin to the company in 2003 – she felt it was a sign of a company with a good long-term vision. “We’re solving problems we know we’re going to face in 10, 20, 30 years,” says Paquin, head of science and partnerships. “My main purpose is to look outside Rio Tinto to find great innovations to help find solutions to those challenges.”

Those challenges include climate change, energy transition and more sustainable mining, water and waste processes. Rio Tinto is aiming to have a net-zero carbon footprint by 2050. “As global natural deposits decline in quality, we have to look at other resources we can access and be innovative in our approach to extraction,” says Paquin, who has a degree in metallurgy.

In Goulet’s current role, she works with a small team on projects that support Rio Tinto’s decarbonization goals. “I couldn’t see the global picture of what mining is, and what it should and could be, until I moved to this role,” she says. “My work has developed into a passion – there isn’t a day when I wake up and I don’t want to come to work.”

Goulet has come a long way since she envisioned mining as just trucks, rocks and conveyors. “I now feel like I can be a change agent because we all need to be one if we want to go where we want to go,” she says. “If we do it right, others will likely follow – we should be leading the way of that change.”

Throughout her journey at Rio Tinto, Goulet credits mentors with helping her prepare for new roles and projects. “Marie-Pierre is one of them,” she says. “I saw immediately that she was very knowledgeable, and I’ve learned a lot from her, and I still do.”

Paquin insists that it takes whole teams to make things work – there are roles in engineering, data processing, metallurgy, physics, management, human resources, finance and legal, among many others. “It’s interesting work for everyone,” she says. “We’re all contributing toward finding solutions for the big challenges that humanity faces right now, including climate change and the energy transition.”

The world is moving away from fossil fuels and turning toward metals used in everything from batteries and solar panels to wind turbines and mobile phones. “In order to mine metals at the speed required in a sustainable way, we need all the brainpower that can be put toward these challenges,” says Paquin. “Anyone who wants to move the needle and have a direct impact on sustainable mining processes can do so here.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Canada's Top 100 Employers winners, published November 15, 2024 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.

Rio Tinto drills into varied and rewarding careers

Growing up, Stéphane Bérubé heard stories about what a good employer Montréal-based Rio Tinto was from his maternal grandfather and an uncle who worked there. In 2002, he joined Canada’s largest mining and metals company as a summer student while taking metallurgy at Cégep de Trois-Rivières. “I probably have aluminum running in my veins,” Bérubé jokes, referring to his family’s history with Rio Tinto.

That first summer, he worked at the company’s research centre analyzing the quality of aluminum products. The work was in line with what he was learning at CÉGEP, and he loved it. Bérubé also loved the salary, which was the same as a process technician.

“I made enough money in the summer that I didn’t have to work during the school year, so I could focus on my studies,” he says. In 2006, he joined Rio Tinto as a process technician. Sponsored by Rio Tinto, he pursued a finance degree at Université du Québec à Montréal.

After two promotions, Bérubé moved to the head office as a metal management manager in 2015. “I started at Rio Tinto in front of a furnace, sweating, and now I wear a suit to work,” he says. “The company is so big and has so many departments that you can do whatever you want, and your managers will always support you.”

Angelina Mehta is another example of a Rio Tinto employee who started out at ground level — or, in her case, underground. While earning a mining engineering degree from McGill University, she spent the summer of 1994 as a surveying student at a Val-d’Or Abitibi mine carrying tripods while climbing ladders in underground tunnels. At the time, Mehta, the daughter of immigrants, was the only woman working in the mine — and the only brown woman. “But I felt welcomed and taken care of, and after that summer, I knew I could do anything,” she says. She spent the next summer driving 200-tonne haul trucks at the Endako mine in British Columbia.

Mehta left Rio Tinto for several years to pursue an MBA and work in the finance industry in Toronto, returning in 2011 as superintendent of business and strategic planning. Maternity leaves also took her away, but she returned permanently in 2021 and is now acting vice president of health, safety and environment for aluminum. “I call this my third round with Rio Tinto in 30 years,” she says.

In 2022, Rio Tinto published an Everyday Respect report, an important step to fostering a more diverse, inclusive and equitable culture. The report addressed racism, bullying and sexism within the company. “It’s a tough report to read, and while I had great site experiences, I know that others do not,” says Mehta.

Mehta listens to the women who reach out to her to share their stories, from students to her peers. “I’m striving to make improvements at the most senior level, and I’m lucky to be at that table now,” she says. “Our goal is to make our workplaces more safe, inclusive and respectful.”
Employee recognition is also paramount. In 2024, Rio Tinto introduced the RockStar of the Year award, where employees nominate their peers based on the company’s values of care, courage and curiosity. Bérubé, who won the award as part of a team, will be attending a global gala in Australia in May.

“Mining is a small industry, so you know where the good people are and where you want to work,” says Mehta. “Rio Tinto is one of the largest mining companies on the planet, with global diversity of operations, locations and people. Where else would I want to work?”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Montreal’s Top Employers winners, published March 18, 2025 in the Montreal Gazette. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.

Rio Tinto is keen to attract and develop young talent

In 2022, Avery Hagerman saw an online job posting for a two-year graduate program at Montréal-based Rio Tinto. “I didn’t have tons of experience, but I thought, hey, this is for new graduates, I’ll just apply – and I’m so glad I did,” she says.

Rio Tinto is the largest mining and metals company operating in Canada. A native of Gatineau, Que., Hagerman had earned an honours bachelor’s degree in environmental science from McGill University in 2021. When she researched Rio Tinto’s website before applying, she discovered that the company is working hard to mitigate the environmental impact of climate change.

“Rio Tinto is striving to do better for the environment and that appealed to me,” says Hagerman, who was hired permanently as an environmental advisor in 2024. In that role, she works in the geographic information systems (GIS) space on such projects as surface water allocation. “I’m compiling data on how much surface water we’re using and how much we’re allowed to use, which is really interesting,” she says.

Rio Tinto’s graduate program has long been a point of pride, welcoming more than 250 new graduates annually, as well as many interns. “Young people are our next generation of leaders who offer fresh perspectives and new ideas for finding better ways to innovate,” says Isabelle Ferron, global manager of early talent. “We want to ensure that our early talent have a great start across all regions and countries, because we want to help them grow and develop in our organization.”

Ferron joined Rio Tinto in 1998 as a human resources advisor. Every four to six years, she moved into a new role in a different part of the business. “The development of our people is at the heart of Rio Tinto – and it’s what I love about our organization,” she says.

Hagerman was keen to learn more and develop her skills from the outset. She has done so in part by attending conferences in Vancouver and San Diego. “My team is global, and my boss is in Australia – I met my team there for the first time in person in 2022, which was great,” she says.

Although mining has historically been a male-dominated industry, that’s changing thanks to the increase in women earning degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). “We want to provide equal opportunities to women and men,” says Ferron. “We have great women out there in STEM, and we’re looking to find them and make them feel welcome here.”

Formal and informal mentorship is also integral to growth and development. “I feel lucky that there are a lot of women leading me,” says Hagerman. “I can see myself in different senior positions in the future because there are women in them now.”

Work-life balance is also important. Hagerman appreciates the hybrid work arrangement and flexible hours, plus walking treadmills and fresh fruit bowls at the office and social gatherings in summer and winter. An early career network connects young employees with each other and senior leaders in person, offering them a safe space to have conversations and ask questions.

At the one-year mark in the graduate program, employees discuss their ambitions and talk about the future. “I have really good relationships with my managers, and we talk about my development goals in my performance reviews,” says Hagerman. “Everyone is looking out for you here.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Canada's Top Employers for Young People winners, published January 21, 2025 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.