Rio Tinto has appointed Bold Baatar, a charismatic Mongolian national touted as the Anglo-Australian company’s likely next leader, as chief commercial officer.
Baatar, who helped the mining group turn around the expansion of the vast Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia, will take over from Alf Barrios in heading its commercial and business activities.
He will retain responsibility for delivering the Simandou iron ore mine in Guinea, the world’s largest ever mining project that Rio is developing with at least seven other companies, including five from China.
Baatar is widely viewed as a leading candidate to succeed chief executive Jakob Stausholm, who has steadied Rio since 2021 after international outcry over the destruction of two 46,000-year-old Aboriginal rock shelters in a mine expansion.