BEIJING （Caixin Online） — Australian mining giant Rio Tinto and the Aluminum Corp. of China （Chinalco） are in the final stages of negotiations of a domestic mining joint venture in China, according to Ian Bauert, Rio Tinto’s managing director in China.
In December 2010, Rio Tinto and Chinalco signed a memorandum of understanding in Beijing to form a venture, in which Chinalco holds 51% stake while Rio Tinto holds the remaining 49%.
Rio Tinto /quotes/comstock/22x!e:rio （AU:RIO 85.57, -2.05, -2.34%） /quotes/comstock/13*!rio/quotes/nls/rio （RIO 69.86, -0.36, -0.51%） will have the right to name the chief executive officer for the new venture, and Chinalco will appoint the president.
According to Bauert, the two companies are currently in talks surrounding the scale of the mining plans, which are expected to include copper, coking coal and potassium. But he said the span of business operations will not include rare earths.
After earlier setbacks of the failed tie-up with Chinalco /quotes/comstock/28c!e:601600 （CN:601600 10.57, +0.53, +5.29%） /quotes/comstock/13*!ach/quotes/nls/ach （ACH 24.51, -0.10, -0.41%） and the bribery case of Stern Hu, Rio Tinto has slowly been restoring its relationships with Chinese partners. In 2010, Rio Tinto had reached agreements with Chinalco and Sinosteel in partnerships of overseas mining projects.
Rio Tinto’s procurement in China reached $400 million in 2010. Bauert said the figures may see further increases in 2011
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