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Published 25th May 2006

World Leaders in Borates, Talc and Salt combine to form Rio Tinto Minerals

Rio Tinto, a world leader in finding, mining and processing the world’s mineral resources, is bringing three of its industrial minerals businesses together under common management to better serve markets. Rio Tinto Borax, the world leader in borate supply and science; Luzenac, the world’s foremost talc producer; and Dampier Salt Ltd., the premier exporter of solar salt will be brought under common management to form Rio Tinto Minerals (RTM). Together with Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium (RTIT), RTM form the Rio Tinto Industrial Minerals Product Group (RTIM). “We are building on our remarkable resource base to achieve efficiencies of scale, and create a platform for growth,” said Andrew Mackenzie, Chief Executive of RTIM and Chairman of RTM and RTIT.

Combining the businesses’ resource base, expertise and infrastructure supports global market growth, with a particular focus on developing economies where demand for high-quality industrial minerals is rising. Rio Tinto Minerals is preserving brand equity developed over centuries by continuing to market its products under the existing brands – Dampier salt, Luzenac talcs and Twenty Mule Team® borates. The new structure will be implemented progressively throughout 2006. Effective 1 February 2006, Gary Goldberg, former President and CEO of Borax, was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of Rio Tinto Minerals. Adam Parr, former Managing Director of Dampier Salt, assumed the role of President and Chief Commercial Officer. Both report to Andrew MacKenzie.Existing corporate legal entities will remain in place and continue to transact business in a manner consistent with the overarching Rio Tinto Minerals vision.

Also evaluating Potash

Rio Tinto via its subsidiary Rio Tinto Minerals Development Limited has exercised its option to acquire 100 per cent of Potasio Rio Colorado S.A. (PRC) in Argentina and hence ownership of the potash project it has been evaluating since 2003. Rio Tinto will conduct final feasibility studies to inform its development decisions by the end of 2006, with potential production start up scheduled for mid-2009. Production capacity will fall in the range 1.6 to 2.4 million tonnes KCl per annum.