Financial details were not disclosed.

Palantir's software will integrate raw data from a multitude of sources within Rio Tinto into a representation of critical mining operations, allowing the miner to make decisions and take action using a single source of truth that combines operational and transactional data.

The data resource will be available to Rio Tinto's frontline and office-based workers.

"This partnership is an important step in our digital transformation; enabling fast-paced, forward-looking decision making across our operations leading to improved results in safety, cost and production," said Rio Tinto's chief information officer Fay Cranmer in a statement.

The new multi-year partnership with Rio Tinto builds on a number of successful data integration projects explored in 2020 across various business units including: transforming the miner's Borates operations to a digital business across the value chain, connecting people with data in Rio Tinto's underground operations; and assisting the company during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is a significant industry partnership for us", says Palantir chief operating officer Shyam Sankar, COO of Palantir. "Our Foundry Platform has been used extensively to accelerate delivery and optimise value chains across a number of market sectors where safety matters."