Global investment in data centres is projected to reach approximately US$1 trillion [1], Simon Trott, a Rio Tinto senior executive, said.
This surge in infrastructure spending represents a critical growth opportunity for the mining giant. While Rio Tinto is traditionally known for its iron-ore business, the construction and operation of new data centres require vast quantities of base metals, allowing the company to diversify its revenue streams.
Trott, who oversees the company's metals portfolio including copper, steel, and aluminium, said the boom will create massive demand for those materials as well as lithium [1]. The transition toward high-capacity digital infrastructure necessitates a steady supply of conductive and structural metals to support the scale of these facilities.
The company is already seeing the financial impact of this trend. Rio Tinto reported a 43 percent [2] jump in underlying earnings for the first half of the year, a result boosted by the increased demand for copper driven by the data centre expansion [2].
Trott spoke about these projections during an interview on ABC News Australia’s programme ‘The Business’ on Thursday. He said the demand is a global phenomenon, positioning Rio Tinto to supply the essential materials required for the next phase of digital infrastructure growth [1].
“Global investment in data centres is projected to reach approximately US$1 trillion.”
The shift toward AI and cloud computing is transforming the mining industry by pivoting demand from traditional construction materials toward specialized base metals. For Rio Tinto, this reduces reliance on the volatile iron-ore market and aligns the company's portfolio with the global digital infrastructure build-out.
