" Rio's QMM mine not a threat to environment - report " 22 September 2023

An independent community study into the Rio Tinto QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM) ilmenite mine, in Madagascar, has concluded that there is no need for heightened health concerns around local radiation levels.

Mining major Rio Tinto said that the analysis received on the five cycles covering various seasons from November 2019 to October 2022 showed that local food sources, water, air and dust are safe from a radiological perspective.  QMM’s contribution to radiation dose within the community has been assessed and found to be far smaller than the variation in natural background radiation levels and below national and international regulatory limits for radiation by international environmental experts, JBS&G Australia. The study is one of the most comprehensive of its type ever undertaken and was commissioned as one of a number of steps QMM is taking to reinforce international best practices and standards in monitoring its environmental impacts, and the impacts on host communities, Rio said.