Chinese prosecutors have formally arrested four employees of Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto on suspicion of obtaining commercial secrets.
Australia summoned China’s ambassador on Monday for a second time to press for details of the detention of Rio Tinto’s top iron ore salesperson.
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/ 27 November 2008
BHP Billiton chair Don Argus said the group’s decision to drop its plans to pursue rival Rio Tinto is "disappointing after many months of hard work".
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/ 26 November 2008
Rio Tinto said on Wednesday it was confident it could sell billions in assets to pay down massive debt, despite concerns about a lack of buyers.
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/ 25 November 2008
BHP Billiton announced on Tuesday it was dropping its controversial hostile takeover bid for rival Rio Tinto due to the state of the global economy.
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/ 4 November 2008
Global miner Rio Tinto sees no reason to cut its exploration portfolio or budget in Africa on the back of the global economic crisis.
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/ 30 October 2008
Less demand for exports is hurting GDP growth, Graeme Wearden and David Stanway report.
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/ 23 October 2008
The Competition Commission has recommended that the Competition Tribunal approve BHP Billiton’s proposed merger with Rio Tinto — with conditions.
BHP Billiton’s may have to pay more for a -billion loan, but this is unlikely to force it to abandon its -billion bid for rival Rio Tinto.
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/ 8 September 2008
Lynley Donnelly investigates the reasons behind the quadrupling of the prices of commodities.
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/ 3 September 2008
Rio Tinto has a dual listing in Sydney and a 14,99% stake in London would equate to around 11% in the entire group.
BHP Billiton, involved in a near -billion bid for rival Rio Tinto, has agreed to provide information for SA’s Competition Commission.
Rio Tinto said on Tuesday that BHP Billiton’s offer to acquire all its shares has now been referred to review by EU competition authorities.
Earlier this week BHP Billiton played down fears that the boom, which has driven commodity prices to record levels, could turn to bust.
Last month British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged British companies to stop investing in Zimbabwe, saying his government was preparing sanctions.
President Robert Mugabe rejected fresh calls for economic reform at a rare meeting with the heads of Zimbabwe’s largest business groups this week.
South African stocks were a mixed bag with a weaker bias at noon on Thursday, but brewer SABMiller climbed on above-forecasts year end earnings. At noon, the all-share index was down 0,16%. Resources fell 0,67%, the gold mining index was off 1,62% but the platinum mining index added 0,15%.
South African stocks remained firm at midday on Wednesday as merger talks surrounding BHP Billiton kept heavyweight miners buoyant, but easing metal prices weighed on other mining counters. At noon, the JSE’s broader all-share index was up 0,88% at 32 280,27.
ArcelorMittal chief executive Lakshmi Mittal became chairperson of the steelmaker on Tuesday, increasing his control over the company. ”I could not have asked for a better chairman during the time of integration,” Mittal told the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
A top executive at the Coega industrial zone has assured Rio Tinto its planned smelter is still viable, despite the mining company’s decision to delay the project due to an electricity crisis. Rio announced on Thursday it would delay the project at Coega, near Port Elizabeth, because of power shortages in South Africa.
Britain’s FTSE 100 index dipped by mid-session on Monday as concerns of a looming United States recession offset gains in oil shares, HSBC and potential bid target Friend Provident. By 1201pm GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 6,6 points at 5 693,3, well off its day’s high of 5 718,8.
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/ 28 February 2008
Murowa Diamonds — Zimbabwe’s sole operating diamond miner — recorded a 40% drop in production in 2007, owing to frequent power failures and machine breakdowns, the company said. Murowa is 78% owned by London-based mining firm Rio Tinto.
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/ 13 February 2008
The world’s third-largest miner, Rio Tinto, said on Wednesday its full-year net profit fell almost 2% in 2007 to $7,312-billion as it again rejected a takeover bid by rival BHP Billiton. But underlying profit rose 1,4% from 2006 to $7,443-billion as the firm said it produced record amounts of iron ore, bauxite, aluminium, gold and copper.
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/ 12 February 2008
South Africa’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Mandisi Mpahlwa, said on Tuesday the country’s support for a planned aluminium smelter at Coega remained unshaken despite a power shortage. Eskom said in January that electricity intensive investment projects could be reviewed due to the country’s power shortage.
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/ 7 February 2008
Zimbabwe’s draft mining Bill will not force firms to give a stake to the government for free as previously feared, and will be debated by Parliament after elections next month, a senior official said on Thursday. The government of President Robert Mugabe, who is running for another five-year term, published the Bill last November.
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/ 7 February 2008
Platinum-mining stocks continued to shine brightly on the JSE by midday on Thursday, but even this dose of positive news failed to keep the bourse in the black as a slow European market weighed. By noon, the broader all-share index had slipped 0,02% into the red. Banks dropped 1,07% and financials gave up 0,47%, while industrials pulled back 0,83%.
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/ 7 February 2008
BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest mining company, sweetened its takeover bid for rival Rio Tinto on Wednesday to ,4-billion, but its proposal was again rebuffed. Amid reports that Rio Tinto could become the centre of a bidding battle, the company’s management rejected the BHP offer as ”not being in the best interests of shareholders”.
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/ 6 February 2008
BHP Billiton launched a hostile ,4-billion bid for rival Rio Tinto in a move that could trigger a Chinese-led counterbid in the world’s second biggest corporate takeover. Combined, BHP and Rio would create the world’s third-richest company, with a market capitalisation eclipsed only by Exxon Mobil and General Electric.
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/ 29 January 2008
Mining company Rio Tinto will review plans for a major aluminium investment in South Africa as the country continues to suffer from serious power shortages — the first sign that the current crisis could hit foreign investment, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
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/ 22 January 2008
China’s state-backed miners have looked at Xstrata but are unlikely to bid for it, leaving Brazil’s Vale or Anglo-American best placed to snap up the Anglo-Swiss miner. Vale, which produces a fifth of the world’s iron ore, said on Monday that it was in talks with Xstrata about a takeover.
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/ 24 December 2007
The gold mining index added some cheer to the JSE ahead of Christmas celebrations, helping the bourse to close 0,59% firmer on Monday. The JSE closed at midday ahead of the two-day Christmas holiday and will reopen on Thursday. The gold mining index ended 2,95% higher, while resources added 0,81% and the platinum mining index recovered 0,62%.
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/ 24 December 2007
China has sanctioned state-owned companies to examine three possible strategies to block BHP Billiton’s proposed takeover of mining giant Rio Tinto, a report said Monday. Strategies include forming a domestic consortium to bid for Rio Tinto, a joint bid by domestic and foreign firms, or purchasing Rio shares on the open market.