Rio Tinto Minerals (formerly US Borax)

World leader in borate technology

Rio Tinto Minerals is an amalgamation of three highly specialised mineral producers who have been brought together under common management to better service their international markets. One of those companies was US Borax.

Rio Tinto Minerals (formerly US Borax) operates one of the richest borate deposits on earth in California's Mojave Desert.  The company supplies nearly half the world's demand for refined borates, key ingredients in fibreglass, glass, ceramics, detergents, fertilizers, wood preservatives, flame retardants and other products.

The company is the acknowledged world leader in borate technology, research and development.

The main pit measures a mile wide, one and 1.5 miles long and up to 700 feet deep and contains more than 80 different types of minerals including the four main types of borates: tincal, kernite, ulexite and colemanite.  The open cut mining technique is used to extract approximately three million tonnes of ore per annum. This is reduced after the refining process to around one million tonnes of high quality borates and other minerals.

The operating life of the mine has been estimated to be at least 75 years.