Managing Director's message

I am pleased to introduce Rio Tinto Coal Australia's 2007 Sustainable development report.

Sustainable development is not a ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ phenomenon. It is part of the way we work, to ensure we minimise the impact of our operations on the environment and provide communities surrounding our mines with positive social and economic benefits.

This year we have published this report electronically, with a key highlights publication mailed to our stakeholders. Throughout 2008, stakeholders will have the opportunity to provide feedback on this approach through our community consultative committees. There is also a feedback section online which can be accessed here.

As part of the wider Rio Tinto group, we deliberately set ourselves targets which are expected to be stretch targets. Rio Tinto Coal Australia’s targets align with the broader Rio Tinto group targets. These voluntary targets are set as we are constantly striving to improve our performance, and are in addition to our statutory performance requirements.
 
While the demand for our product remained strong, 2007 was a busy and challenging year for Rio Tinto Coal Australia. Our operations were impacted by external pressures in both New South Wales and Queensland, such as infrastructure constraints, the ongoing drought and extreme weather events.

However, the progress of a number of key projects in 2007 was positive and will help strengthen our commitment to the communities in which we operate. These projects include the commencement of construction of the Clermont Mine, a $950 million, 190 tonne thermal coal deposit in Clermont. The Rio Tinto board also approved a US$991 million investment extension project for the Kestrel Mine. In New South Wales, the feasibility study into Mount Pleasant project in the Upper Hunter region continued throughout the year.

In 2007 there were no significant environmental incidents (Category III or IV) or incidents with regulatory fines or penalties recorded at any of our sites. The Sustainable Development section of our websites includes incident details and applicable incidents are also reported to the applicable regulatory authorities. This ensures transparency of reporting of any significant environmental incidents to our communities and stakeholders.

The health and safety of our employees remained our key priority in 2007, with our goal being zero injuries. Across the Rio Tinto Coal Australia business we achieved a lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) of 0.53 and an all injury frequency rate (AIFR) of 0.95, unfortunately not meeting our internal targets in either area. However the AIFR was an 11 per cent improvement on our 2006 result, which was encouraging.

I hope you find our new approach to reporting our sustainable development activities provides you with an interesting and relevant snapshot of our activities in 2007.

Hubie van Dalsen
Managing Director