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Rio Tinto Group

The Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London, England and Melbourne, Australia. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the Spanish government. Since then, the company has grown through a long series of mergers and acquisitions to place itself among the world leaders in the production of many commodities, including aluminium, iron ore, copper, uranium, coal, and diamonds.[1] Although primarily focused on extraction of minerals, Rio Tinto also has significant operations in refining, particularly for refining bauxite and iron ore.[2] The company has operations on six continents but is mainly concentrated in Australia and Canada, and owns gross assets valued at $81 billion through a complex web of wholly and partly owned subsidiaries.[3]

Rio Tinto Group is a dual-listed company traded on both the London Stock Exchange where it is a component of the FTSE 100 Index[4] and the Australian Securities Exchange where it is a component of the S&P/ASX 200 index.[5] As of March, 2009, Rio Tinto is the fourth-largest publicly listed mining company in the world with a market capitalization of approximately $34 billion,[3] and was listed in Fortune magazine's 2008 Global 500 ranking of largest worldwide companies by revenue at number 263.[6] Although the company has a long record of producing profitable operating results and favorable investment returns, the company's 2007 acquisition of Canadian aluminium company Alcan burdened Rio Tinto with substantial debt, requiring it to dispose of assets to raise cash and consider accepting a large investment from the Chinese state-controlled company Chinalco.[7]

Formation
Hugh Matheson led the purchase of the Rio Tinto mines from Spain, and was the company's first president.Since antiquity, a site along the Rio Tinto, in the Andalusian Province of Huelva in Spain has been mined for copper, silver, gold, and other minerals.[8] Approximately 3,000 BCE, Iberians and Tartessians began mining the site, followed by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Visigoths, and Moors. After a period of abandonment, the mines were rediscovered in 1556 and the Spanish government began operating them once again in 1724.[8]

However, Spain's mining operations there were inefficient, and the government itself was otherwise distracted by political and financial crises,[9] leading the government to sell the mines in 1873 at a price later determined to be well below actual value. [10]

The purchasers of the mine were led by Hugh Matheson's Matheson and Company, which ultimately formed a syndicate consisting of Deutsche Bank (56% ownership), Matheson (24%), and railway firm Clark, Punchard and Company (20%). At an auction held by the Spanish government for sale of the mine on February 17, 1873, the group won with a bid GB£3,680,000 (ESP 92,800,000). The bid also specified that Spain permanently relinquish any right to claim royalties on the mine's production. Following purchase of the mine, the syndicate launched the Rio Tinto Company, registering it on March 29, 1873.[9]

Operating history
Following their purchase of the Rio Tinto Mine, the new ownership constructed a number of new processing facilities, innovated new mining techniques, and expanded mining activities. [9] From 1877 through 1891, the Rio Tinto Mine was the world's leading producer of copper.[11]

From 1871 through 1925, the company was inwardly focused on fully exploiting the Rio Tinto Mine, with little attention paid to expansion or exploration activities outside of Spain. The company enjoyed strong financial success until 1914, cooperating with other pyrite producers to control market prices. However, World War I and its aftermath effectively eliminated the United States as a viable market for European pyrites, leading to a decline in the firm's prominence.[9]

The company's failure to diversify during this period led to the slow decline of the company among the ranks of international mining firms. However, this changed in 1925, when Sir Auckland Geddes succeeded Lord Alfred Milner as chairman. Geddes and the new management team he installed focused on diversification of the company's investments and operations and reformation of marketing strategy. Geddes led the company into a series of joint ventures with customers in the development of new technologies, as well as exploration and development of new mines outside of Spain.[9]

Perhaps most significant was the company's investment in copper mines in Rhodesia, which it eventually consolidated into the Rhokana Corporation.[9] These and later efforts at diversification eventually allowed the company to divest from the Rio Tinto mine in Spain. By the 1950s, Franco's nationalistic government had made it increasingly difficult to exploit Spanish resources for the profit of foreigners.[9] Rio Tinto Company, supported by its international investments, was able to divest two-thirds of its Spanish operations in 1954 and the remainder over the following years.[12]

Major mergers and acquisitions
Like many major mining companies, the Rio Tinto Group has historically grown through a series of mergers and acquisitions.

Early acquisitions

The company's first major acquisition occurred in 1929, when the company issued stock for the purpose of raising 2.5 million pounds to invest in Rhodesian copper mining companies, which was fully invested by the end of 1930. The Rio Tinto company consolidated its holdings of these various firms under the Rhokana Corporation by forcing the various companies to merge.[9]

Rio Tinto's investment in Rhodesian copper mines did much to support the company through troubled times at its Spanish Rio Tinto operations spanning the Spanish Civil War, World War II, and Franco's nationalistic policies. In 1950s the political situation made it increasingly difficult for mostly British and French owners to extract profits from Spanish operations, and the company decided to dispose of the mines from which it took its name.[9] Thus, in 1954 Rio Tinto Company sold two thirds of its stake in the Rio Tinto mines, disposing of the rest over the following years.[12] The sale of the mines financed extensive exploration activities over the following decade.[13]

Merger with Consolidated Zinc
The company's exploration activities presented the company with an abundance of opportunities; however it lacked sufficient capital and operating revenue to exploit those opportunities. This situation precipitated the next, and perhaps most significant, merger in the company's history. In 1962 Rio Tinto Company merged with the Australian firm Consolidated Zinc to form the Rio Tinto – Zinc Corporation (RTZ) and its main subsidiary, Conzinc Riotinto of Australia (CRA). The merger provided Rio Tinto the ability to exploit its new-found opportunities, and gave Consolidated Zinc a much larger asset base.[13]

RTZ and CRA were separately managed and operated, with CRA focusing on opportunities within Australasia and RTZ taking the rest of the world. However, the companies continued to trade separately, and RTZ's ownership of CRA dipped below 50% by 1986.[13] Strategic needs of the two companies eventually led to conflicts of interest regarding new mining opportunities, and shareholders of both companies determined a merger was in their mutual best interest. In 1995, the companies merged into a dual listed company, in which management was consolidated into a single entity and share holder interests were aligned and equivalent, although maintained as shares in separately named entities. The merger also precipitated a name change; after two years as RTZ-CRA, RTZ became Rio Tinto plc and CRA became Rio Tinto Limited, referred to collectively as Rio Tinto Group or simply Rio Tinto.[13]

Mergers and acquisitions following Consolidated Zinc
Major acquisitions following the Consolidated Zinc merger included U.S. Borax, a major producer of borax, bought in 1968,[12] Kennecott Utah Copper and BP Australia's coal assets which were bought from British Petroleum in 1989 and a 70.7% interest in the New South Wales operations of Coal & Allied Industries also in 1989.[12] In 1993, the Company acquired Nerco and also the United States coal mining businesses of Cordero Mining Company.[12]

In 2000, Rio Tinto acquired Northern Limited, an Australian company with iron ore and uranium mines, for $2.8 billion.[14] The takeover was partially motivated as a response to Northern Limited's 1999 bid to have Rio Tinto's Pilbara railway network declared open access.[15] The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission regulatory body approved the acquisition in August 2000,[16] and the purchase was completed in October of the same year.[17] That year Rio Tinto also bought North Ltd and Ashton Mining for 4 billion USD, adding additional resources in aluminum, iron ore, diamonds, and coal.[12] In 2001 it bought (under Coal and Allied Industries) the Australian coal businesses of the Peabody Energy Corporation.[12]

On November 14, 2007, Rio Tinto completed its largest acquisition to date[3], purchasing Canadian aluminium company Alcan for $38.1 billion.[18] Alcan's chief executive, Dick Evans, leads the new division, which has been renamed Rio Tinto Alcan and its headquarters situated in Montreal.[19]

M&A activity in 2008 and 2009 has been focused on divestments of assets to raise cash and refocus on core business opportunities. The company sold three major assets in 2008, raising approximately $3 billion in cash. In the first quarter of 2009 Rio Tinto has reached agreements to sell its interests in the Corumba iron ore mine and the Jacobs Ranch coal mine, and completed sales of an aluminium smelter in China and the company's potash operations, for an additional estimated $2.5 billion.[3]
Corporate Status

Organization
Rio Tinto is primarily organized into six operational businesses, divided by product type:[20]

Rio Tinto Copper – copper and byproducts such as gold, silver, molybdenum, and sulfuric acid; future home of nickel operations if developed
Rio Tinto Alcan – aluminium
Rio Tinto Energy – coal and uranium
Rio Tinto Diamonds – diamonds
Rio Tinto Minerals – industrial minerals such as borax, talc, salt and gypsum
Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium – iron ore, iron, and titanium dioxide
These operating groups are supported by separate divisions providing exploration and technology services.[20]

Stock structure and ownership
Rio Tinto Group is structured as a dual-listed company, with listings on both the London Stock Exchange (symbol: RIO) in London under the name Rio Tinto Plc.[4] and the Australian Securities Exchange (symbol: RIO) in Sydney under the name Rio Tinto Limited[24] The dual-listed company structure grants shareholders of the two companies the same proportional economic interests and ownership rights in the consolidated Rio Tinto Group, in such a way as to be equivalent to all shareholders of the two companies actually being shareholders in a single, unified entity. This structure was implemented in order to avoid adverse tax consequences and regulatory burdens. In order to eliminate currency exchange issues, the company's accounts are kept, and dividends paid, in United States dollars.[13]

Rio Tinto is one of the largest companies listed on either exchange. As such, it is included in the widely-quoted indices for each market: the FTSE 100 Index of the London Stock Exchange[4], and the S&P/ASX 200 index of the Australian Securities Exchange.[5] LSE-listed shares in Rio Tinto plc can also be traded indirectly on the New York Stock Exchange via an American Depositary Receipt.[25] As of March 4, 2009, Rio Tinto was the fourth-largest publicly listed mining company in the world, with a market capitalization of approximately $34 billion.[3] As of mid-February 2009, shareholders were geographically distributed 42% in the United Kingdom, 18% in North America, 16% in Australia, 14% in Asia, and 10% in continental Europe.[3]

BHP Billiton bid
On November 8, 2007, rival mining company BHP Billiton announced it was seeking to purchase Rio Tinto Group in an all share deal. This offer was rejected by the board of Rio Tinto as "significantly undervalu[ing]" the company. Another attempt by BHP Billiton for a hostile takeover, valuing Rio Tinto at $147 billion, was rejected on the same grounds. Meanwhile, the Chinese Government-owned resources group Chinalco and the US aluminum producer Alcoa purchased 12% of Rio Tinto's London-listed shares in a move that would block or severely complicate BHP Billiton's plans to buy the company.[26][27] BHP Billiton's bid was withdrawn on November 25, 2008, with the BHP citing market instability from the global financial crisis of 2008–2009.[28]

Chinalco investment
On February 1, 2009, Rio Tinto management announced that they were in talks to receive a substantial equity infusion from Chinalco, a major Chinese state-controlled[7] mining enterprise, in exchange for ownership interest in certain assets and bonds. Chinalco is already a major shareholder, having bought up 9% of the company's ownership in a surprise move in early 2008.[29] The proposed investment structure reportedly involves $12.3 billion for the purchase of ownership interests of Rio Tinto assets in its iron ore, copper, and aluminium operations, plus $7.2 billion for convertible bonds. The transaction would bring Chinalco's ownership of the company to approximately 18.5%.[7] The deal is still pending approval from regulators in the United States, China, and Australia, and has not yet been approved by shareholders, although regulatory has been received from Germany and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.[30] The largest barrier to completing the investment may come from Rio Tinto's shareholders: support for the deal by shareholders was never overwhelming and has reportedly declined recently[31] as other financing options (such as a more traditional bond issuance) are beginning to appear more realistic as a viable alternative funding source.[7][31] A shareholder vote on the proposed deal is expected in the third quarter of 2009.[31]

Rio Tinto is believed to have pursued this combined asset and convertible bond sale to raise cash to satisfy its debt obligations, which require payments of $9.0 billion in October 2009 and $10.5 billion by the end of 2010.[7] The company has also noted China's increasing appetite for commodities, and the potential for increased opportunities to exploit these market trends, as a key factor in recommending the transaction to its shareholders.[3]

Operations
Rio Tinto's main business is the production of raw materials including copper, iron ore, coal, bauxite, diamonds, uranium, and industrial minerals including titanium dioxide, talc, salt, gypsum, and borates. Rio Tinto also performs processing on some of these materials, with plants dedicated to processing bauxite into alumina and aluminium, and smelting iron ore into iron. The company also produces other metals and minerals as byproducts from the processing of its main resources, including gold, silver, molybdenum, sulfuric acid, nickel, potash, lead, and zinc.[2] Rio Tinto controls gross assets of $81 billion in value across the globe, with main concentrations in Australia (35%), Canada (34%), Europe (13%), and the United States (11%), and smaller holdings in Africa (3%), South America (3%), and Indonesia (1%).[3]

Summary of 2008 Production[1]

Product  
Amount  
World Ranking  

Iron ore 153,400 thousand tonnes
2nd[32]

Bauxite 034,987 thousand tonnes 1st[2]

Alumina 009,009 thousand tonnes 1st[2]

Aluminium 004,062 thousand tonnes 1st[2]

Copper (mined) 000,698.5 thousand tonnes 4th[33]

Copper (refined) 000,321.6 thousand tonnes N/A
Molybdenum 000,010.6 thousand tonnes 3rd[34]

Gold 000,000.013 thousand tonnes (460,000 ounces) 7th[33]

Diamonds 000,000.004 thousand tonnes (20,816,000 carats)
3rd[35]

Coal 160,300 thousand tonnes N/A
Uranium 000,006.441 thousand tonnes (14,200,000 pounds)
3rd[2]

Titanium Dioxide 001,524 thousand tonnes N/A, but at least 3rd
Borates 000,610 thousand tonnes 1st[2]

  World Ranking
Iron ore 153,400 thousand tonnes 2nd[32]
Bauxite 034,987 thousand tonnes 1st[2]
Alumina
 009,009 thousand tonnes 1st[2]
Aluminium 004,062 thousand tonnes 1st[2]
Copper (mined) 000,698.5 thousand tonnes 4th[33]
Copper (refined) 000,321.6 thousand tonnes 4th[33]
Molybdenum 000,010.6 thousand tonnes 3rd[35]
Gold 000,000.013 thousand tonnes (460,000 ounces) 7th[33]
Diamonds 000,000.004 thousand tonnes (20,816,000 carats) 3rd[35]
Coal 000,006.441 thousand tonnes (14,200,000 pounds) N/A
Uranium 000,006.441 thousand tonnes (14,200,000 pounds) 3rd[2]
Titanium Dioxide 001,524 thousand tonnes N/A, but at least 3rd
Borates 000,610 thousand tonnes 1st[2]

Copper and byproducts: Rio Tinto Copper

Copper was one of Rio Tinto Group's main products from its earliest days operating at the Rio Tinto complex of mines in Spain. Since that time, the company has divested itself from its original Spanish mines, and grown its copper mining capacity through acquisitions of major copper resources around the world. The copper group's main active mining interests are Minera Escondida in Chile, the Grasberg Mine on Papua New Guinea, Kennecott Utah Copper in the United States, Northparkes in Australia, and Palabora in South Africa. Most of these mines are joint ventures with other major mining companies, with Rio Tinto's ownership ranging from 30% to 80%; only Kennecott is wholly owned. Operations typically include the mining of ore through to production of 99.99% purified copper, including extraction of economically valuable byproducts.[36] Together, Rio Tinto's share of copper production at its mines totaled nearly 700,000 tonnes, making the company the fourth-largest copper producer in the world.[33]

Rio Tinto Copper continues to seek new opportunities for expansion, with major exploration activities at the Resolution Copper project in the United States, La Granja Mine in Peru, and Oyuu Tolgoi in Mongolia. In addition, the company is seeking to become a major producer of nickel, with exploration projects currently underway in the United States and Indonesia.[36]

Although not the primary focus of Rio Tinto Copper's operations, several economically valuable byproducts are produced during the refining of copper ore into purified copper. Gold, silver, molybdenum, and sulfuric acid are all removed from copper ore during processing. Due to the scale of Rio Tinto's copper mining and processing facilities, the company is also a leading producer of these materials, which drive substantial revenues to the company.[36]

Sales of copper generated 8% of the company's 2008 revenues, and copper and byproduct operations accounted for 16% of underlying earnings.[3]

Aluminium and related products: Rio Tinto Alcan

The Rio Tinto Group has consolidated its aluminium-related businesses in its Rio Tinto Alcan division. Rio Tinto Alcan was formed in late 2007, when Rio Tinto purchased the Canadian company Alcan for $38.1 billion. Combined with Rio Tinto's existing aluminium-related assets, the new Rio Tinto Alcan vaulted to the world number one producer of bauxite, alumina, and aluminium.[37] Rio Tinto Alcan kept key leadership from Alcan, and the company's headquarters remain in Montreal.[19]

Rio Tinto Alcan divides its operations into three main business units. The Bauxite and Alumina unit mines raw bauxite from locations in Australia, Brazil, and west Africa. The unit then refines the bauxite into alumina at refineries located in Australia, Brazil, Canada, and France. The Primary Metal business unit's operations consist of smelting aluminium from alumina, with smelters located in 11 countries around the world. The Primary Metal group also operates several power plants in order to support the energy-intensive smelting process. Finally, the Engineered Products unit processes aluminium into derivative products for specialty uses ranging from beverage containers to aerospace applications.[37]

Rio Tinto Alcan has interests in seven bauxite mines and deposits, six alumina refineries and six specialty alumina plants, 26 aluminium smelters, 13 power plants, and 120 facilities for the manufacture of specialty products.[37] The acquisition of Alcan operations in 2007 substantially increased Rio Tinto's asset base, revenues and profits: in 2008, 41% of company revenues and 10% of underlying earnings were attributable to Rio Tinto Aclan.[3]

Coal and uranium: Rio Tinto Energy
Rio Tinto Energy is a business group of Rio Tinto dedicated to the mining and sale of coal and uranium.[38]

The company focuses on both fuel coal for electricity generation in coal power plants, and coking coal for use in iron and steel mills. The company's coal operations are located in Australia and the United States, mainly operating under its subsidiaries such as Rio Tinto Coal Australia and Rio Tinto Energy America.[38] In 2009, Rio Tinto was engaged in an ongoing attempt to sell off assets of Rio Tinto Energy America. In March 2009, the company agreed to sell a major asset, the Jacobs Ranch coal mine in Wyoming, to Arch Coal for $761 million, and is continuing to seek buyers for remaining assets in an effort to reduce corporate debt.[39]

Rio Tinto's uranium operations are located at two mines: the Ranger Uranium Mine of Energy Resources of Australia and the Rössing Uranium Mine in Namibia. The company is the third-largest producer of uranium in the world. According to Rio Tinto's website, the company institutes strict controls and contractual limitations on uranium exports, limiting uses to peaceful, non-explosive uses only. Such controls are intended to limit use of the company's uranium production to use as fuel for nuclear power plants only, and not for use in the production of nuclear weapons.[40] Rio Tinto Energy was responsible for 12% of revenues and 18% of underlying earnings in 2008. [3]

Diamonds: Rio Tinto Diamonds

Rio Tinto Diamonds operates three diamond mines: the Argyle Diamond Mine in Western Australia (100% ownership), the Diavik Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories of Canada (60% ownership), and the Murowa Diamond Mine located in Zimbabwe (78% ownership). Together, these three mines produce 20% of the world's annual production of rough diamonds,[41] making Rio Tinto the world's third-largest producer of mined diamonds[35].

The diamond business unit's most advanced exploration project is the Bunder Project in Madhya Pradesh, India, where Rio Tinto became the first foreign group to be granted a prospecting license there.[42] Rio Tinto Diamonds generated 1% of revenues and earnings for Rio Tinto Group in 2008.[3]

Industrial minerals: Rio Tinto Minerals
Rio Tinto Minerals is a diverse business group with mining and processing interest in borates, talc, salt, and gypsum. Rio Tinto Borax, with main operations in California and another mine in Argentina, supplies nearly half of the world's annual demand for refined borates, while the company's Luzenac Group subsidiary supplies 25% of global talc consumption. The Luzenac Group is also the only arm of the company with continuing active mining operations on the European continent: in addition to mines in North America and Australia, the company also operates a talc mine in southern France.[43] The Minerals group is also majority owner of Dampier Salt, which produces over 9 million tonnes of salt and 1.5 million tonnes of gypsum annually from its three facilities in northwest Australia.[44] Rio Tinto Minerals accounted for 6% of company revenues, and contributed 3% to earnings in 2008.[3]

Iron products and titanium: Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium
[45]Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium (RTIT) groups together the company's iron and titanium production. Rio Tinto is the world's second-largest supplier of iron ore,[32] producing over 153 million tonnes in calendar year 2008.[1] The company's major iron ore mines and development projects are located in Australia, South America, Canada, India, and Guinea. Major subsidiaries held within RTIT include Hamersley Iron, majority interest in the Pilbara Iron mines, and the Iron Ore Company of Canada.[46] The company also has smelting facilities for the production of iron and steel, limited in size in comparison to the massive amount of iron ore produced, at QIT-Fer et Titane in Canada[47] and HISmelt in Australia.[46]

Titanium dioxide is mined at three locations in Canada, South Africa, and Madagascar, and refined at QIT-Fer et Titane's Canadian facilities.[47] Major subsidiaries include Richards Bay Minerals of South Africa and QIT Madagascar Minerals.[48] In 2008, Rio Tinto produced 1.524 million tonnes of titanium dioxide[1], or approximately 27% of the estimated global production of 5.6 million tonnes.[49]

Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium generated a large portion of the company's revenues and earnings in 2008, accounting for 27% and 52%, respectively, of company-wide operating results.[3]

世界三大铁矿石巨头：力拓、必和必拓、淡水河谷。

　　Rio Tinto矿业公司成立于1873年的西班牙。Rio Tinto是西班牙文，意为黄色的河流。1954年，公司出售了大部分西班牙业务。1962年至1997年，该公司兼并了数家全球有影响力的矿业公司,并在2000年成功收购了澳大利亚北方矿业公司,成为在勘探、开采和加工矿产资源方面的全球佼佼者。

　　力拓集团总部在英国,澳洲总部在墨尔本。该公司控股的哈默斯利铁矿有限公司是澳大利亚第二大铁矿石生产公司，在西澳皮尔巴拉地区有五座生产矿山(即汤姆普赖斯铁矿、帕拉布杜铁矿、恰那铁矿、马兰杜铁矿和布诺克曼第二矿区)，探明储量约为21 亿吨，公司铁矿年生产能力为5500万吨。预计在建扬迪采矿工程完工后，该公司铁矿年生产能力将达到6500万吨以上。

　　力拓集团市值523亿美元,是全球第二大采矿业集团，仅次于必和必拓公司。公司总资产按地区来划分，89%集中在澳大利亚和北美。 2004年公司总营业额140亿澳元，营业收入来源情况按地区划分：北美占25%，欧洲占22%，日本占18%，澳新占8%，其他亚洲国家为22%，其他地区5%；按产品划分：煤炭和铁矿石分别占19%，铝占17%，铜16%，工业用原材料15%，黄金和钻石各5%，其他4%。

　　力拓矿业集团不仅是全球最大的资源开采和矿产品供应商之一，而且也是世界三大铁矿石供应商之一。力拓集团作为全球最大的资源开采和矿产品供应商，不仅向全球提供铁矿石，还提供包括铝、铜、钻石、能源产品、黄金、工业矿物等产品。该集团业务遍及全球，尤其以澳大利亚和北美洲为重。中国是其仅次于北美、欧洲和日本之后的第四大市场，而路久成也表示，中国也是集团目前业务增长最迅速的市场。

　　力拓集团与中国的主要业务是双向贸易。主要向中国出口铁矿石、铜、氧化铝、镍、金、硼酸盐、氧化钛原料等。公司为世界第二大铁矿石生产商，在中国的市场占有率为第一。公司现与中国达成8500万吨的铁矿石年销售意向。该公司在北京、上海、广州、香港设有代表处，在新疆、甘肃、云南有勘探项目，主要是勘探铜、镍等。

　　对于中国业务的开发，当前中国宏观经济总体运行良好，市场需求在未来比较长的时间内仍会比较旺盛。力拓将一如既往地继续致力于满足中国经济发展对原材料的需要。近几年集团的经营业绩一直非常出色，这在很大程度上也是得益于中国经济的强劲发展。