Rio Tinto said it has accepted all of the review’s 26 recommendations, which range from better education on sexual harassment and racism to “ensuring leaders at all levels” act on reports of harmful behaviours. 

The company is unlikely to be alone in grappling with a serious cultural problem. A government enquiry in Australia last year found that sexual harassment was rife among far-flung mining camps across the industry.

But for Mr Stausholm, on a mission to reinvent the business following an outcry when it blew up Aboriginal caves in Western Australia in 2020, the question is whether he can fix problems with such deep roots. 

It comes as Rio Tinto faces existential questions and challenges as global demand for natural resources changes in the shift towards cleaner energy, with Serbia recently revoking its licences to a planned $2.4bn (£1.8bn) lithium mine to feed the boom in electric cars. 

“I’m setting out some very clear marks,” Mr Stausholm says.

“We are really on a mission to address those; we will not accept the behavior. But I have to be honest with you in saying, we can’t change things immediately. Culture change takes time. We’re prepared to spend the time and be patient and driving this forward.”

Rio Tinto is one of the world’s largest miners, with more than 47,000 workers spread out across 35 countries, Operations range from 16 iron ore mines in Western Australia to aluminium refineries and smelters in Canada, copper mines in Mongolia and extraction used for paint and smartphones in South Africa. 

Stausholm’s accession in January 2021, after his predecessor J-S Jacques was forced to quit in the wake of the Aboriginal caves scandal, came as a reckoning was about to hit the industry.

Allegations of sexual assault at mines in Australia triggered the government inquiry in August last year. The Western Mine Workers Alliance told the inquiry that that two-thirds of women it surveyed had experienced verbal sexual harassment at remote “fly-in-fly-out mines,” while Rio Tinto’s rival, BHP, revealed it had fired 48 staff for sexual harassment at its Western Australian sites since 2019. 

Led by Elizabeth Broderick, Australia’s former sexual discrimination commissioner, the review into Rio involved a survey completed by 10,303 workers, 109 “group listening sessions”, 85 confidential one-on-one listening sessions, reviews of documents and meetings with leadership. 

In a particular blow to Rio’s efforts to move on from the Aboriginal caves disaster, the report found that among its Australian employees, “39.8pc of men who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experienced racism in the last five years.”

Stausholm joined Rio Tinto in 2018 as chief financial officer. Asked if he recognised the concerns about senior leaders and high-performers, he says “the report simply reflects what our people are telling us, and therefore I see the report as fact.”

He adds: “I cannot claim that I have been super good at seeing it before, I’ve learned a lot from this report. Yes, we all have to perform, but we have to perform in the right way… Ultimately, the company is not the aggregate performance of individuals; it is actually our impact on others.”

By commissioning and publishing the report in full, Rio will no doubt win some plaudits for shining a light on its own operations. Broderick said the report was “not a reason for reduced confidence in Rio Tinto”, but “demonstrates a very clear commitment to increased transparency, accountability and action.” 

Confidence in whether that change will happen is mixed. Almost 16pc of those surveyed were extremely confident the company would do enough to make a “meaningful difference” over bullying, while 13pc were not at all confident. Meanwhile, about 50pc were confident of meaningful change will be made over sexual harassment and racism. 

Stausholm says the company is “in the early part of the cycle” but “I’m absolutely convinced that when we get people aligned, we can address it.”

How much the company can focus on cultural change at a time of strategic pressures remains to be seen. The company’s shares in London and Australia moved broadly in line with the market on Tuesday, suggesting investors were not too upset by the report. Out of eleven top 20 shareholders contacted by the Telegraph on Tuesday, one responded. 

Norges Bank, Norway’s pension fund, Rio’s fifth-biggest investor with 2.1pc of the London-listed company, said it did not generally comment on individual companies but added: “We have noted the findings of this external review and that the company has said it would implement all 26 recommendations contained in the findings.”

Workers may have to put their faith in the board, rather than investors, to hold Stausholm’s feet to the fire.