Rio Tinto has posted a full-year profit of $US21.1 billion ($A29.2 billion), up 116 per cent from the previous year.
A spike in earnings in Wednesday's results was driven by record iron ore prices as the global economy recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Like rivals BHP and Fortescue Metals Group, Rio has benefited from the WA government's isolationist COVID-19 policies which have allowed the mining sector to operate largely uninterrupted for much of the past two years.
But the state's border closures have exacerbated labour shortages with companies struggling to access skilled workers.
The mining giant warned the reopening of Western Australia's borders will be no magic bullet for labour shortages after riding a surge in commodity prices to a record profit.
Rio expects its Pilbara iron ore costs to increase to up to $US21 per tonne as a result of rising labour costs and input prices.
Chief executive Jakob Stausholm on Wednesday said he hoped the reopening of WA's borders from March 3 would gradually relieve the pressures.
"There's not going to be a magic bullet," he told reporters.
"Slowly but surely I hope we will work towards more normal conditions. It's very difficult to predict how it's going to unfold ... but I see (that) we are reaching a stage in the pandemic where things hopefully are moving forward.
"Many things have worked out very well in the Pilbara but it's very clear that we have certain specific specialised skills shortages that we are hopefully able to address on opening the border."
A report released by the company earlier this month outlined a culture of bullying, harassment and racism, including 21 complaints of actual or attempted rape or sexual assault over the past five years.
Nearly half of all employees who responded to an external review of the miner's workplace culture commissioned by Rio Tinto said they had been bullied, while racism was found to be common across a number of areas.
Rio has promised to implement all 26 recommendations from the report by former Australian sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.
Mr Stausholm said he hoped the "confronting" report would foster a culture of greater openness.
"I really feel we have gone from silence to a very open dialogue. So I'm more optimistic than ever that we can address this," he said.
