Profile: Rio Tinto PLC (RTP)

Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited operate as one business organization (Rio Tinto). Rio Tinto is a mining and exploration company. The Company’s business is finding, mining and processing mineral resources. Its major products include aluminum, copper, diamonds, energy products, gold, industrial minerals (borates, titanium dioxide, salt and talc), and iron ore. Rio Tinto’s activities are represented in Australia and North America. There are also businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southern Africa. The Company’s product groups comprise: Aluminum; Copper and Diamonds; Energy and Minerals, and Iron Ore. Rio Tinto's business support groups include Exploration and Technology and Innovation. In January 2009, the Company completed the sale of its 50% equity share of the Alcan Ningxia aluminum joint venture in China to Qingtongxia Aluminium Group Co Ltd.

In April 2008, Hecla Mining Company completed the transaction to acquire the Rio Tinto subsidiaries that held a 70.27% interest in the Greens Creek silver mine and joint venture located near Juneau, Alaska. As a result of the transaction, Hecla subsidiaries hold 100% of the Greens Creek joint venture. On September 11, 2008, Rio Tinto acquired a 14.9% stake in Kalahari, and a 10.9% stake in Extract Resources, in which Kalahari's subsidiary Kalahari Uranium Limited holds a 39.11% interest. In October 2008, Alcan Global Pharmaceutical Packaging, a division of Alcan Packaging, a business unit of Rio Tinto Alcan, acquired the Chakan flexible packaging plant from Associated Capsules Private Limited in India.

Aluminium Group

The Company’s Aluminium product group, Rio Tinto Alcan, is a primary producer of bauxite, alumina and aluminum, benefiting from a sustainable, low cost energy supply. It operates mainly in Canada and Australia, with interests in Europe, New Zealand, Africa, South America and the United States. The group is organized into four business units: Bauxite & Alumina, Primary Metal, Engineered Products and Packaging, the latter two of which are to be divested.

Copper and Diamonds Group

Rio Tinto’s Copper and Diamonds group is engaged in the copper production, comprising Kennecott Utah Copper in the United States, and interests in some copper mines and development projects, including Escondida in Chile, Grasberg in Indonesia, the Resolution and Pebble projects in the United States, the Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia and the La Granja project in Peru. The Diamonds group is a primary supplier of rough diamonds, comprising interests in the Diavik mine in Canada, the Argyle mine in Australia, and the Murowa mine in Zimbabwe, served by a diamond sales office in Belgium.

Energy and Minerals

The Company’s Energy and Minerals group is a major supplier in its markets, represented in coal by Rio Tinto Coal Australia and Coal & Allied in Australia, and by Rio Tinto Energy America in the United States. It also includes uranium interests in Energy Resources of Australia and the Rossing Uranium mine in Namibia. The industrial minerals businesses is engaged in the supply and science of their products, comprising Rio Tinto Minerals, made up of borates and talc operations in the United States, South America, Europe and Australia, as well as Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium, which has interests in North America, South Africa and Madagascar.

Iron Ore

The Company’s Iron Ore group is a primary contributor to the world’s seaborne iron ore trade with interests that comprise Hamersley Iron and Robe River in Australia, Iron Ore Company of Canada, Corumba in Brazil, and the Simandou, Guinea, and Orissa, India, projects. The group includes the HIsmelt direct iron making plant in Australia, employing a new, cleaner iron making process developed largely by Rio Tinto. It also includes the Dampier Salt operations at three sites in Western Australia.

Exploration

The Company’s Exploration group is organized into five teams based in North America,

South America, Australia, Asia and Africa/Europe and a sixth project generation team that searches the world for new opportunities and provides specialized geological, geophysical and commercial expertise to the regional teams.

Technology and Innovation

Technology and Innovation group has bases in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Its role is to identify and promote operational technology best practice across the Group and to pursue step change innovation of strategic importance to the development of orebodies of the future.