Rio Tinto has revealed it plans to invest a further £336million in renewable energy assets in the iron-ore rich Pilbara region of western Australia.
The plan forms part of the mining giant's mission to halve its global carbon emissions by 2030.
The investment will be used to construct two 100 megawatt solar power facilities and a 200-megawatt hour on-grid battery storage in Pilbara by 2026, the group said in a statement.
Investment: Rio Tinto has revealed it plans to invest a further £336m in renewable energy assets in the iron-ore rich Pilbara region of western Australia
This is in addition to the 34 MW of solar power installed at the recently commissioned Gudai-Darri iron-ore mine.
Initial funding for TRAVESTIS RJ Rio Tinto's first major standalone solar farm on the Pilbara coast has been approved.
Construction, which will involve the installation of around 225 000 solar panels built to withstand the Pilbara's cyclonic conditions, is expected to start next year.
Rio Tinto said the firm's broader 'energy transition' is expected to add as much as 25 per cent in new demand above traditional sources.
It added: 'Rio Tinto is targeting investment of up to $3billion per year in growth to meet this demand, including the Oyu Tolgoi copper, Rincon lithium and Simandou iron ore projects.'
In today's update, Rio Tinto published fairly conservative output forecasts for next year, with no increase expected in production at its Pilbara iron ore mine.
Costs are also set to increase.
The FTSE 100-listed company said it expected output from Pilbara, which largely feeds industrial demand in China, to stay in a range of between 320million and 335million tons in 2023.
Iron ore prices have largely returned to pre-pandemic levels in recent months, after spiking in response to a wave of global fiscal and monetary stimulus back in 2020.
Rio Tinto also said it expects to mine more copper ore next year, but lower grades will result in a slight fall in the output of refined copper.
The company expects mined copper to rise to a range around 575,000 tons, up from between 500,000 and 575,000 tons this year.
The group also expects its diamond output to fall next year, while it thinks aluminium output will rise.
Shifts: A chart showing shifts in Rio Tinto's share price over the past year
were up 1.58 per cent or 88.00p to 5,651.00p this afternoon.
Jacob Stausholm, Rio Tinto's chief executive, said: 'We are now creating real momentum, to build a stronger Rio Tinto that is a platform for delivering long-term value.
'From evolving our culture, to operational improvements, a different approach on cultural heritage, and technology breakthroughs to address climate change and a changing customer environment, we are seeing early results that give us conviction we have the right objectives, the right team, and the right strategy.
'This is all captured in our newly-defined purpose: finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs.'
He added: 'We are working hard to decarbonise our assets and products, as we invest to grow in materials needed for the energy transition.