EL7.AI
StocksMediumUpdated•Originally published 10 September 2026•Updated 10 September 2026•
2 min read

Rio Tinto Secures Nyangumarta Consent for Winu, With Approvals and FID Pending

Key Facts

1The Nyangumarta People consented to the proposed Winu mine and associated infrastructure on their Country, with regulatory approvals and the final investment decision still pending.
2Rio Tinto holds 70% of the joint venture and will develop and operate it, while Sumitomo Metal Mining holds 30%.
3Rio Tinto targets feasibility-study completion around the end of 2026 and first copper by 2030.

Rio Tinto and the Nyangumarta Warrarn Aboriginal Corporation have signed a Project Agreement giving the Nyangumarta People consent for the proposed Winu copper-gold mine and associated infrastructure on their Country in Western Australia. The agreement is not final approval to develop the mine.

The new agreement builds on a planning accord signed in 2023 and sets out how Nyangumarta People will participate in project planning and development and how their knowledge and priorities will be incorporated. It includes measures to avoid and minimise potential environmental and Aboriginal cultural-heritage impacts, while the project remains subject to regulatory and other required approvals and a final investment decision.

Winu is in the northern Pilbara on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert, about 300 kilometres south of Broome and 320 kilometres east of Port Hedland. Western Australia's Environmental Protection Authority describes it as a proposed new copper-gold mine.

Rio Tinto will develop and operate Winu and holds 70% of the joint venture, while Sumitomo Metal Mining holds 30%. The structure gives Rio Tinto operational control while sharing the project's funding needs and economic risk with its Japanese partner.

A feasibility study is under way, with Rio Tinto targeting completion around the end of 2026. In parallel, Western Australia's Environmental Protection Authority has opened the project's environmental review document for public comment until October 22, 2026, showing that environmental assessment remains in progress.

The announced consent covers the Nyangumarta People and works on their Country. Rio Tinto's project materials say the associated Karlkayn airstrip is on Martu Country and that mining requires project agreements with both Nyangumarta and Martu; the inspected announcement did not report a Martu Project Agreement.

Rio Tinto is targeting first copper from Winu by 2030. For investors, the agreement clears one stakeholder-related condition but is not a construction permit; the feasibility study, environmental review, remaining approvals and final investment decision are the decisive milestones before development is committed.