Rio Tinto, the world's third-largest mining company, has pledged a 30 per cent increase in its dividend payment to shareholders this year.
The promise came as the company outlined its strategy and growth plans – mounting an apparent defence of its recent decision to rebuff a takeover approach by rival BHP Billiton.
Rio Tinto rejected a proposed all-share offer made by BHP, the world's largest mining company, earlier this month. It said the approach "significantly" undervalued its business.
Predicting "exceptional growth" for its operations in a statement today, Rio Tinto said it did not believe the value of its business had yet been fully reflected by the market.
The Anglo-Australian mining firm said it expected global demand for minerals to continue rising for decades due to demographic and economic changes, particularly in developing economies such as China and India.
"We believe we have a better growth pipeline than our competitors, which puts Rio Tinto in a strong position to supply the metal-hungry world," said Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese.
"We have the people, execution capability and resources to work smarter, faster and better than our competitors. We also believe our track record of delivery is unrivalled and we look forward with confidence to a hugely exciting future," he added.
Rio Tinto has pledged to increase its dividend payment this year by 30 per cent, promising further annual increases of not less than 20 per cent in each of the next two years.
The company says the promise reflects the confidence of the board in the business, with Rio Tinto also planning to increase proceeds from a global sell-off programme to $15 billion (£7.4 billion).
In addition the company confirmed it expects to achieve cost savings of $940 million (£455 million) a year following its acquisition of North American aluminium giant Alcan – up from the $600 million (£290 million) previously anticipated.
Meanwhile Rio Tinto expects to treble its iron ore production to over 600 million tonnes per annum.
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