Barton goes to Rio in bid to move on

RIO Tinto has appointed Canadian Dominic Barton as its new chairman as the mining giant looks to move on from the Juukan Gorge scandal.

The company announced the appointment in a statement to the ASX on Monday morning after a nine-month search.

Mr Barton (pictured) quit as Canada’s ambassador to China on December 6. His resignation takes effect at the end of the year, clearing the former McKinsey boss to join Rio’s board.

He led McKinsey for more than nine years until 2018, and was the chair of the advisory giant’s Asia division and a member of China Development Bank’s advisory group.

“It is a great honour to succeed Simon as chair of Rio Tinto,” Mr Barton said.

“Returning to the private sector, I am excited to join a company with world-class people and assets as it navigates a shifting competitive landscape and seeks to emerge as a leader in the climate transition. I look forward to working with Jakob and the board to implement a strategy that puts decarbonisation at the heart of the business and positions Rio Tinto to be a leader in addressing complex global problems, while building and sustaining trust with host communities.”

Mr Barton also briefly served as chairman of Canadian miner Teck Resources, and as a non-executive director of Singapore’s Singtel, which owns Australian telco Optus.

His appointment is seen as likely to help strengthen Rio’s relationships with Chinese authorities, given his longstanding business links in China and his role in helping solve a major diplomatic impasse between Beijing and Ottawa over the detention of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou.

Outgoing chairman Simon Thompson announced in March that he would not stand for re-election at Rio’s 2022 annual shareholder meeting, after widespread criticism of the board’s lacklustre response to the destruction of 46,000-yearold heritage sites in the Pilbara.