Rio Scandal Turns Ugly

Rio Tinto (RIO) is in for a brawl after sacking two senior executives yesterday over the $US10.5 million payment in connection with the Simandou iron ore prospect in Guinea in West Africa. Rio said yesterday morning it had “today terminated the contracts of Energy & Minerals chief executive Alan Davies and Legal & Regulatory Affairs Group executive Debra Valentine.”

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Rio On Negative Credit Watch

The chances have risen that Rio Tinto (RIO) will lose its coveted A credit rating after Standard & Poor’s put the miner on credit watch with a negative outlook – two days after it did the same to its would be suitor, Glencore (which reacted overnight with a huge asset sale and debt cut valued at $US10 billion). That news saw Glencore shares leap 7% in London.

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Rio Secures Oyu Tolgoi Deal

Busy times for Rio Tinto (RIO) – while fighting off the silliest idea for a while from an Australian government – the Tony Abbott supported inquiry into iron ore – the giant miner has also put around $US1 billion of Australian and NZ based aluminium, alumina and bauxite assets on the market (again) and this morning revealed it had overcome a major hurdle to the expansion of its huge copper project in Mongolia.

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