Rio is an official partner of the Australian Olympic team and is also a gold partner sponsor of Mongolia’s Olympic team.

And for only the second time, Rio has supplied the metal for the 4700 medals to be awarded at the Olympics and Paralympics.

The 8 tonnes of gold, silver and copper for the medals is coming from the Kennecott Utah copper mine near Salt Lake City and the new Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia.

“Metals from our mines in the mountains of Utah and the deserts of Mongolia have now been transformed into these beautiful gleaming medals,” Rio chairman Jan du Plessis said when the medals were delivered to the Tower of London earlier this month.

“All 65,000 Rio Tinto employees around the world are immensely proud to be playing a small part in the excitement of London 2012.”

The first of the medals will be awarded tomorrow for the shooting event.

But ahead of the games, Rio has already been awarded a gold medal for all the wrong reasons.

The company was last week awarded the gold medal for worst Olympic sponsor by protest group Greenwash Gold 2012, a joint campaign by London Mining Network, Bhopal Medical Appeal and UK Tar Sands Network.

It’s not just Rio to come under fire – fellow sponsors Dow Chemical, ArcelorMittal, BP, Coca Cola and McDonalds have also been heavily criticised in the lead-up as the focus increasingly moves to sustainability.

Last Friday, Greenwash Gold held a mock awards ceremony in Trafalgar Square where BP was awarded the silver medal and Dow the bronze.

The medals were awarded based on votes from the public.

The event saw green custard poured over the heads of fake representatives from the three companies and resulted in the arrest of six protesters – and even more press for the organisers than was initially anticipated.

Greenwash Gold has argued that the Kennecott operations pollute the air and had caused premature deaths in the Salt Lake City area, while the group has claimed that Oyu Tolgoi will use too much water in a remote part of the Gobi Desert.

The group has also pointed to alleged pollution of waterways from the Ranger uranium mine in Australia and human rights abuses in Indonesia.

The claims prompted Rio to defend itself ahead of its annual general meeting in London in April, which was picketed by protestors.

"Being ethically responsible is a thread that runs through everything we do,” Rio chief executive officer Tom Albanese said at the time.

“We aim to bring long-lasting positive change to the communities where we work, respecting human rights, bringing economic benefits and looking after the environment.

"We have rigorous standards for air quality, ecosystems, biodiversity, climate change, the use of energy, land and water and waste disposal.

“Before we even open a mine we plan for its closure and how to restore the land.

"We support London 2012's commitment to delivering the most sustainable games ever. It aligns with Rio Tinto's commitment to sustainable development wherever we operate."

The company said the Kennecott Utah mine operated within the parameters of its air permits and complied with federal and state air quality regulations, while its Oyu Tolgoi project sourced water from a non-drinkable aquifer which had no impact on community water sources.

The London Mining Network says Rio’s involvement is a “scandal” and has found support from unions.

United Steelworkers, which represents workers at Kennecott Utah, started its own campaign, Off the Podium, as a show of solidarity with employees of Rio’s Alma smelter in Quebec who were locked out of the operation for six months up until earlier this month as part of a labour dispute.

Last week South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers called for the South African Olympics Committee to formally oppose Rio’s involvement.

Independent body the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 said it had urged the London Mining Network to submit its evidence to the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and was disappointed it had not.

The commission added that it had asked LOCOG to investigate the claims, despite no formal complaints being made and was disappointed it had not done so.

However, it did have some positive comments.

“The commission recognises the significant and positive contribution that Rio Tinto and LOCOG made when committing to a more sustainable approach to medal production for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” it said.

“LOCOG ensured Rio Tinto had ISO 14001 in place for the primary mining operation; the Historic Futures string system was being used to provide supply chain transparency from mine to medal which is an Olympic first; and Rio Tinto is seeking certification under the Responsible Jewellery Council, this is a third party certified evaluation that covers a range of sustainability issues.”

Two weeks ago, Rio became the first mining company to be certified by the RJC, of which it was a founding member.

The certification followed an independent audit of Rio’s diamond mines in Canada, Zimbabwe and Western Australia, and Kennecott Utah.

Oyu Tolgoi and the Bunder diamond project in India were not included because the projects were not yet in commercial production.

“Rio Tinto’s RJC member certification results from a successful verification assessment conducted by KPMG, one of the independent third-party auditing firms accredited to the RJC’s member certification system,” RJC CEO Michael Rae said.

“Rio Tinto currently occupies a unique position within the international mining industry of being the only certified gold and diamond miner.”

Rio Diamond and Minerals CEO Harry Kenyon-Slaney said the company supported stakeholders’ demands for greater transparency and appreciated that people wanted to know the jewellery they bought had been mined responsibly and ethically.

This article first appeared in ILN's sister publication MiningNews.net