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76-560: Mining giant Rio Tinto Group , which was historically Bougainville Copper Limited's major shareholder, exited on 30 June 2016 when it transferred its 53.8 per cent shareholding for distribution to the Autonomous Bougainville Government and the Independent State of Papua New Guinea . The mine at Panguna was opened in 1972 and was majority-owned by Rio Tinto . The mine was vitally important to

152-723: A long position in the relatively underpriced part of the DLC and a short position in the relatively overpriced part. For example, in the early 1980s an arbitrageur might have built up a long position in Royal Dutch NV and a short position in Shell Transport and Trading plc. This position would have yielded profits when the relative prices of Royal Dutch and Shell converged to theoretical parity. An internal document of Merrill Lynch investigates arbitrage opportunities in six DLCs. Lowenstein (2000) describes arbitrage positions of

228-612: A DLC is similar to a general partnership between publicly held corporations . This differs to a cross-listed company, which is (the same company) listed on multiple share markets. Samsung is an example of a cross-listed company (listed both on the Korean and the US stock market). Some major dual-listed companies include: Major dual-listed companies undergoing reorganization into a different form includes: Other companies that were previously dual-listed include: A dual-listed company structure

304-428: A DLC structure instead of a regular merger where a single share is created. A capital gains tax could be owed if an outright merger took place, but no such tax consequence would arise with a DLC deal. Differences in tax regimes may also favour a DLC structure, because cross-border dividend payments are minimized. In addition, there may be favourable tax consequences for the companies themselves. Once companies have chosen

380-452: A DLC structure, there can be major tax obstacles to cancelling the arrangement. Issues of national pride may sometimes also be involved; where both parties to a proposed merger or takeover are in a strong position and do not need to merge or accept a takeover, it can be easier to push it through if the country with the smaller business is not "losing" its corporation. A third motive is the reduction of investor flow-back, which would depress

456-566: A bid of £ 3.68 million ( ESP 92.8 million). The bid also specified that Spain would 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 29 March 1873. At the end of the 1880s, control of the firm passed to the Rothschild family , who increased the scale of its mining operations. Following their purchase of

532-628: A key factor in recommending the transaction to its shareholders. In March 2010, it was announced that Chinalco would invest $ 1.3 billion for a 44.65% stake in Rio Tinto's iron ore project in Simandou , Guinea. Rio Tinto retained 50.35% ownership at Simandou. In November 2011, Rio joined with Chinalco to explore for copper resources in China's complex landscape, by setting up a new company, CRTX, 51% owned by Chinalco and 49% by Rio Tinto. Under

608-421: A long period of time. Both studies conclude that fundamental factors (such as currency risk, governance structures, legal contracts, liquidity, and taxation) are not sufficient to explain the magnitude of the price deviations. Froot and Dabora (1999) show that the relative prices of the twin stocks are correlated with the stock indices of the markets on which each of the twins has its main listing. For example, if

684-606: A major producer of borax , bought in 1968, Kennecott Utah Copper and BP 's coal assets which were bought from BP in 1989, and a 70.7% interest in the New South Wales operations of Coal & Allied , also in 1989. In 1993, the company acquired Nerco and the United States coal mining businesses of Cordero Mining Company . In 2000, Rio Tinto acquired North Limited , an Australian company with iron ore and uranium mines, for $ 2.8 billion. The takeover

760-561: A memorandum of understanding to develop Rio Tinto's iron ore project in the Simandou mine in Simandou , Guinea . On 29 July 2010, Rio Tinto and Chinalco signed a binding agreement to establish this joint venture covering the development and operation of the Simandou mine. Under the terms of the agreement, the joint venture maintains Rio Tinto's 95% interest in the Simandou project as follows: By providing US$ 1.35 billion on an earn-in basis through sole funding of ongoing development over

836-461: A price later determined to be well below actual value. The purchasers of the mine were led by Hugh Matheson 's Matheson & Company , which ultimately formed a syndicate consisting of Deutsche Bank (56% ownership), Matheson (24%) and the civil engineering firm Clark, Punchard and Company (20%). At an auction held by the Spanish government to sell the mine on 14 February 1873, the group won with

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912-569: A two-to-three-year period, Chalco, a subsidiary of Chinalco, would acquire a 47% interest in the joint venture. Once the full sum was paid, Rio Tinto would be left with a 50.35% interest in the project and Chalco would have 44.65%. The remaining 5% would be owned by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the financing arm of the World Bank . On 22 April 2011 Rio Tinto, its subsidiary Simfer S.A. (Simfer), and

988-561: Is a British-Australian multinational company that is the world's second largest metals and mining corporation (behind BHP ). It was founded in 1873 when a group of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto , in Huelva , Spain, from the Spanish government. It has grown through a long series of mergers and acquisitions. Although primarily focused on extraction of minerals, it also has significant operations in refining, particularly

1064-442: Is a corporate structure in which two corporations function as a single operating business through a legal equalization agreement , but retain separate legal identities and stock exchange listings . Virtually all DLCs are cross-border, and have tax and other advantages for the corporations and their stockholders. In a conventional merger or acquisition , the merging companies become a single legal entity, with one business buying

1140-568: Is a dramatic turnaround in policy from the Autonomous Bougainville Government, which determined landowners felt BCL didn't deserve a social licence to run the mine. In February 2018, BCL begun legal proceedings against the Autonomous Bougainville Government following the cancellation of the exploration license. 6°18′55″S 155°29′47″E  /  6.31528°S 155.49639°E  / -6.31528; 155.49639 Rio Tinto Group Rio Tinto Group

1216-403: Is effectively a merger between two companies, in which they agree to combine their operations and cash flows, and make similar dividend payments to shareholders in both companies, while retaining separate shareholder registries and identities. In virtually all cases, the two companies are listed in different countries. There are often tax reasons for companies from different jurisdictions to adopt

1292-476: Is mainly concentrated in Australia and Canada, and owns its mining operations through a complex web of wholly and partly owned subsidiaries. Rio Tinto is primarily organised into four operational businesses, divided by product type: These operating groups are supported by separate divisions providing exploration and function support. Rio Tinto is structured as a dual-listed company , with listings on both

1368-418: Is that the underlying shares are not convertible into each other. Hence, risky arbitrage positions must be kept open until prices converge. Since there is no identifiable date at which DLC prices will converge, arbitrageurs with limited horizons who are unable to close the price gap on their own face considerable uncertainty. De Jong, Rosenthal, and van Dijk (2008) simulate arbitrage strategies in twelve DLCs over

1444-398: Is wholly owned. Operations typically include mining of ore through to production of 99.99% purified copper, including extraction of economically valuable by-products . Together, Rio Tinto's share of copper production at its mines totalled nearly 700,000 tonnes , making the company the fourth-largest copper producer in the world. Dual-listed company A dual-listed company or DLC

1520-490: The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission . 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 in 2009, as other financing options (such as a more traditional bond issuance) are beginning to appear more realistic as a viable alternative funding source. A shareholder vote on

1596-571: The Bougainville separatist crisis . There have also been corruption concerns: In July 2017 the UK's Serious Fraud Office announced an investigation of the company's business practices in Guinea . Since antiquity, a site along the Rio Tinto in Huelva , Spain, has been mined for copper, silver, gold and other minerals. Around 3000 BC, Iberians and Tartessians began mining the site, followed by

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1672-567: The FTSE 100 rises relative to the AEX index (the Dutch stock market index) the stock price of Reed International PLC generally tends to rise relative to the stock price of Elsevier NV. De Jong, Rosenthal, and van Dijk (2008) report similar effects for nine other DLCs. A potential explanation is that local investor expectations affect the relative prices of the shares of the DLC parent companies. Because of

1748-777: The FTSE 100 Index of the London Stock Exchange, and the S&;P/ASX 200 index of the Australian Securities Exchange. LSE-listed shares in Rio Tinto plc can also be traded indirectly on the New York Stock Exchange via an American Depositary Receipt . As of 4 March 2009, Rio Tinto was the fourth-largest publicly listed mining company in the world, with a market capitalisation around $ 134 billion. As of mid-February 2009, shareholders were geographically distributed 42% in

1824-612: The London Stock Exchange (symbol: RIO), under the name "Rio Tinto Plc", and the Australian Securities Exchange (symbol: RIO) in Sydney, under the name "Rio Tinto Limited". The dual-listed company structure grants shareholders of the two companies the same proportional economic interests and ownership rights in the consolidated Rio Tinto, in such a way as to be equivalent to all shareholders of

1900-585: The New York Stock Exchange , giving it listings on three major stock exchanges. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000 , it was ranked the world's 114th-largest public company. In May 2020, to expand the Brockman 4 mine , Rio Tinto demolished a sacred cave in Juukan Gorge , Western Australia , which had evidence of 46,000 years of continual human occupation, and was considered the only inland site in Australia to show signs of continual human occupation through

1976-458: 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. However, Spain's mining operations there were inefficient, and the government itself was otherwise distracted by political and financial crises, leading the government to sell the mines in 1873 at

2052-628: The Pilbara , Western Australia. The Pilbara iron ore operations include 16 iron ore mines, four independent port terminals, a 1,700-kilometre rail network and related infrastructure. The corporation also has had a majority stake in Iron Ore Company of Canada since its 2000 hostile takeover of North Limited. Copper was one of Rio Tinto's main products from its earliest days operating at the Rio Tinto complex of mines in Spain. Since that time,

2128-472: The Spanish Civil War , World War II and Franco's nationalistic policies . In the 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. Thus, in 1954, Rio Tinto Company sold two-thirds of its stake in the Rio Tinto mines, disposing of

2204-790: The University of Ulster published adverse findings about the company from during the period of civil war. This research suggested that BCL placed pressure on the PNG government to assert its authority on Bougainville, following acts of industrial sabotage. The company purportedly aided the security forces by providing them with trucks, fuel, accommodation, communications equipment, storage space, messing facilities and office resources after concerns about human rights abuses became apparent. These allegations were previously denied by BCL's former Chairman, but Dr Lasslett insists on their veracity. In his first statement on Radio Australia Pacific Beat on 8 June 2010,

2280-574: The economy of Papua New Guinea . The PNG national government received a 20% share of profit from the mine, of which the Bougainvilleans received 0.5% to 1.25% share of the total profit. The first Bougainville independence movement began to arise in the late 1960s, as people began to air their grievances against the then Australian colonial government over the handling of the Panguna mine. Australian External Territories Minister Charles Barnes

2356-418: The uranium market ; to do so, the cartel engaged in bid rigging , price fixing , and market sharing . Westinghouse filed an antitrust lawsuit against cartel members in 1976 and the cartel disbanded. Like many major mining companies, Rio Tinto has historically grown through a series of mergers and acquisitions. The company's first major acquisition occurred in 1929, when the company issued stock for

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2432-491: The $ 16 billion Canadian group's " poison pill " defence was not valid. Ivanhoe had developed Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia, one of the world's largest-known copper deposits. On 28 January 2012, Rio Tinto gained control of Ivanhoe Mines and removed the management. In October 2013, Rio Tinto agreed to sell its majority stake in Australia's third-largest coal mine to Glencore and Sumitomo for a little over US$ 1 billion, as part of

2508-649: The Australian coal businesses of the Peabody Energy . On 14 November 2007, Rio Tinto completed its largest acquisition to date, purchasing Canadian aluminium company Alcan for $ 38.1 billion, as of 2014 , "the largest mining deal ever completed". Alcan's chief executive, Jacynthe Côté, led the new division, renamed Rio Tinto Alcan with its headquarters situated in Montreal . Activity in 2008 and 2009

2584-466: 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. RTZ and CRA were separately managed and operated, with CRA focusing on opportunities within Australasia and RTZ taking

2660-484: The Bougainville government enacted an indefinite moratorium on renewing the licence of BCL over fears it could reignite violent civil conflict. Bougainville landowner groups were called to vote on allowing BCL to renew their mining licence and potentially reopen the Panguna mine, but lacked support. President Momis asserted that progressing with BCL could "cause a total explosion of the situation again". The moratorium

2736-620: The Guinean Government signed a settlement agreement that secured Rio Tinto's mining rights in Guinea to the southern concession of Simandou, known as blocks 3 and 4. According to the agreement, Simfer would pay US$ 700 million and receive mining concession and government approval of the proposed Chalco and Rio Tinto Simandou joint venture. In April 2011, Rio Tinto gained a majority stake in Riversdale Mining . In 2011,

2812-672: The Rio Tinto Mine, the new ownership constructed a number of new processing facilities, innovated new mining techniques, and expanded mining activities. From 1877 to 1891, the Rio Tinto Mine was the world's leading producer of copper. From 1870 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, colluding with other pyrite producers to control market prices. However, World War I and its aftermath effectively eliminated

2888-603: The United Kingdom, 18% in North America, 16% in Australia, 14% in Asia and 10% in continental Europe. On 8 November 2007, rival mining company BHP Billiton announced it was seeking to purchase Rio Tinto 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,

2964-432: The United States as a viable market for European pyrites , leading to a decline in the firm's prominence. 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

3040-478: The absence of "fundamental reasons" for the mispricing, DLCs have become known as a textbook example of arbitrage opportunities, see for example Brealey, Myers, and Allen (2006, chapter 13). Price differences between the two markets in which dual-listed companies are listed (also called mispricing) has led to a number of financial institutions trying to exploit the mispricing by setting up arbitrage positions in such circumstances. These arbitrage strategies involve

3116-487: The arrested, Australian citizen Stern Hu , was "suspected of stealing Chinese state secrets for foreign countries and was detained on criminal charges", according to a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry. Stern Hu was also accused of bribery by Chinese steel mill executives for sensitive information during the iron ore contract negotiations. On 19 March 2010 Rio Tinto and its biggest shareholder, Chinalco , signed

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3192-403: The company from the pre-DLC period. However, the DLC structure also has disadvantages. The structure may hamper transparency for investors and reduce managerial efficiency. In addition, issuing shares in a merger and capital market transactions (such as SEOs, share repurchases , and stock splits ) are more complex under the DLC structure. The shares of the DLC parents represent claims on exactly

3268-523: 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 Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia, Kennecott Utah Copper in the United States, and Minera Escondida in Chile. Most of these mines are joint ventures with other major mining companies, with Rio Tinto's ownership ranging from 30% to 80%; only Kennecott

3344-492: The company in represented by DPG Advisory Solutions. Rio Tinto's main business is the production of raw materials including copper, iron ore, bauxite, diamonds, uranium and industrial minerals including titanium dioxide, 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 by-products from

3420-562: The company rekindled its interest in potash when it entered a joint venture with Acron Group to develop the Albany potash development, in southern Saskatchewan , Canada. Following an exploration program, Acron in a June 2014 statement described Albany as "one of the best potash development opportunities in the world". On 13 December 2011, an independent arbitrator cleared the way for Rio Tinto, which had owned 49% of Ivanhoe Mines (now known as Turquoise Hill Resources ), to take it over: he said

3496-456: The company's dual-listed company structure, management powers of the Rio Tinto are consolidated in a single senior management group led by a board of directors and executive committee. The board of directors has both executive and non-executive members, while the executive committee is composed of the heads of major operational groups. Rio Tinto engages professional lobbyists to represent its interests in various jurisdictions. In South Australia,

3572-498: The company's investment strategy and the introduction of organisational and marketing reforms. 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. Between 1925 and 1931, Geddes recruited two directors: JN Buchanan (finance director) and RM Preston (commercial director), as well as other executives involved with technical and other matters. Perhaps most significant

3648-399: The distribution of these legal and economic rights between the twin parents, including issues related to dividends, liquidation, and corporate governance. Usually, the two companies will share a single board of directors and have an integrated management structure. A DLC is somewhat like a joint venture , but the two parties share everything they own, not just a single project; in that sense,

3724-495: The firm's plans to focus on larger operations. Less than a year later, Rio Tinto rejected two merger proposals from Glencore, proffered in July and August 2014; the merger of Glencore and Rio Tinto would have created the world's largest mining company. In May 2015, Rio Tinto announced plans to sell some of its aluminium assets as part of a possible $ 1 billion deal, two years after a similar but failed attempt. In September 2020, it

3800-650: The hedge-fund Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM) in Royal Dutch/Shell. LTCM established an arbitrage position in this DLC in the summer of 1997, when Royal Dutch traded at an eight to ten percent premium. In total $ 2.3 billion was invested, half long in Shell and the other half short in Royal Dutch. In the autumn of 1998 large defaults on Russian debt created significant losses for the hedge fund and LTCM had to unwind several positions. Lowenstein reports that

3876-872: The last Ice Age . The company later apologised for the demolition and CEO Jean-Sébastien Jacques subsequently stepped down. Rio Tinto has been widely criticised by environmental groups as well as the government of Norway for the environmental impacts of its mining activities. Claims of severe environmental damage related to its engagement in the Grasberg mine in Indonesia led the Government Pension Fund of Norway to exclude it from its investment portfolio. Academic observers have also expressed concern regarding Rio Tinto's operations in Papua New Guinea, which they allege were one catalyst of

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3952-506: The newly elected President of Bougainville, John Momis , declared that the Panguna mine has to be reopened to assure Bougainville's future economic growth. A referendum on Bougainville's independence must be held no later than June 2020 under the Bougainville Peace Agreement. During 2017, President Momis and the Autonomous Bougainville Government advocated for the re-opening of the Panguna mine. In January 2018,

4028-508: The outstanding shares of the other. However, when a DLC is created, the two companies continue to exist, and to have separate bodies of shareholders, but they agree to share all the risks and rewards of the ownership of all their operating businesses in a fixed proportion, laid out in a contract called an "equalization agreement". The equalization agreements are set up to ensure equal treatment of both companies’ shareholders in voting and cash flow rights. The contracts cover issues that determine

4104-404: The period 1980-2002. They show that in some cases, arbitrageurs would have to wait for almost nine years before prices have converged and the position can be closed. In the short run, the mispricing might deepen. In these situations, arbitrageurs receive margin calls , after which they would most likely be forced to liquidate part of the position at a highly unfavorable moment and suffer a loss. As

4180-510: The premium of Royal Dutch had increased to about 22 percent and LTCM had to close the position and incur a loss. According to Lowenstein, LTCM lost $ 286 million in equity pairs trading and more than half of this loss is accounted for by the Royal Dutch/Shell trade. The example of LTCM is a good illustration of why arbitrage by financial institutions has not succeeded in eliminating the mispricing in DLCs. An important characteristic of DLC arbitrage

4256-401: The price of the stock of one of the firms in their own market if the merger route were used instead. That is, some institutional investors cannot own the shares of firms domiciled outside the home country or can only own such shares in limited quantity. In addition, in a merger, the non-surviving firm would be removed from all the indices. Index tracking funds would then have to sell the shares of

4332-553: The processing of its main resources, including gold, silver, molybdenum , sulphuric acid , nickel, potash , lead and zinc . 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 South America (3%), Africa (3%) and Indonesia (1%). The Australian operations of Rio Tinto Iron Ore (RTIO) comprises an integrated iron ore operations in

4408-507: The proposed deal was expected in the third quarter of 2009. Rio Tinto is believed to have pursued this combined asset and convertible bond sale to raise cash to satisfy its debt obligations, which required payments of $ 9.0 billion in October 2009 and $ 10.5 billion by the end of 2010. The company has also noted China's increasing appetite for commodities, and the potential for increased opportunities to exploit these market trends, as

4484-430: 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 roughly 18.5%. The deal is still pending approval from regulators in the United States and China, and has not yet been approved by shareholders, although regulatory approval has been received from Germany and

4560-641: The purpose of raising 2.5 million pounds to invest in Northern 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. Rio Tinto's investment in Rhodesian copper mines did much to support the company through troubled times at its Spanish Rio Tinto operations spanning

4636-477: The refining of bauxite and iron ore. It has joint head offices in London , England and Melbourne , Australia. Rio Tinto is a dual-listed company traded on both the London Stock Exchange , where it is a component of the FTSE 100 Index , and the Australian Securities Exchange , where it is a component of the S&P/ASX 200 index. American depositary shares of Rio Tinto's British branch are also traded on

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4712-411: The rest of the world. However, the companies continued to trade separately, and RTZ's ownership of CRA dipped below 50% by 1986. The two companies' strategic needs 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

4788-451: The rest over the following years. The sale of the mines financed extensive exploration activities over the following decade. The company's exploration activities presented the company with an abundance of opportunities, but 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

4864-574: The same underlying cash flows. In integrated and efficient financial markets, stock prices of the DLC parents should therefore move in lockstep. In practice, however, large differences from theoretical price parity can arise. For example, in the early 1980s Royal Dutch NV was trading at a discount of approximately 30% relative to Shell Transport and Trading PLC. In the academic finance literature, Rosenthal and Young (1990) and Froot and Dabora (1999) show that significant mispricing in three DLCs (Royal Dutch Shell, Unilever, and Smithkline Beecham) has existed over

4940-428: The surviving company. With the DLC structure, all of this would be avoided. A fourth motive is that DLCs do not necessarily require regulatory ( anti-trust ) consent and may not be constrained by the requirement of foreign investment approval. Finally, the access to local capital markets may be reduced when a quotation disappears in a regular merger. This is based on the idea that local investors are already familiar with

5016-427: The two companies actually being shareholders in a single, unified entity. This structure was implemented to avoid adverse tax consequences and regulatory burdens. To eliminate currency exchange issues, the company's accounts are kept, and dividends paid, in United States dollars. 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:

5092-426: Was able to divest two-thirds of its Spanish operations in 1954 and the remainder over the following years. The company was part of the uranium producers' cartel , Societe d'Etudes de Recherches d'Uranium, which operated from 1972 to 1976. The other cartel members were based in Australia, France, and South Africa. It was formed by the major non-United States uranium producers to mitigate the impacts of US policy on

5168-658: Was accused of telling the Bougainvillean people they would "get nothing". The issue of compensation went to the High Court of Australia, where it was found that the compensation was inadequate under ordinary federal Australian law, but that as an External Territory, Papua New Guinea was not guaranteed the same standards that applied to mainland Australia. Papua New Guinea has been an independent country since 16 September 1975. In 2010, using interviews with BCL executives and internal company documents, Dr Kristian Lasslet of

5244-592: Was announced Rio Tinto had acquired a 15% stake in the Australian exploration and development company, Sovereign Metals for US $ 27.6 million. In October 2024, Rio Tinto signed an agreement to acquire U.S.-based Arcadium Lithium for $ 6.7 billion. The deal involved a cash offer of $ 5.85 per share, reflecting a nearly 90% premium over Arcadium's recent closing price. The acquisition, expected to close in mid-2025, would integrate Arcadium's lithium assets into Rio's operations, further enhancing its portfolio of critical minerals. The company has operations on six continents, but

5320-592: Was announced that the company's chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques , along with two executives, would resign because of Rio Tinto's destruction of two ancient rock shelters in the Pilbara region of Australia. The company's chief financial officer, Jakob Stausholm , became the new chief executive on 1 January 2021. In March 2022, Rio Tinto completed the acquisition of Rincon Mining's lithium project in Argentina for $ 825 million, following approval by Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board . In July 2023, it

5396-480: Was consolidated into a single entity and shareholder 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 . Major acquisitions following the Consolidated Zinc merger included US Borax ,

5472-741: Was focused on divestments of assets to raise cash and refocus on core business opportunities. The company sold three major assets in 2008, raising about $ 3 billion in cash. In the first quarter of 2009, Rio Tinto reached agreements to sell its interests in the Corumbá 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. On 5 July 2009, four Rio Tinto employees were arrested in Shanghai for corruption and espionage. One of

5548-468: Was in talks to receive a substantial equity infusion from Chinalco , a major Chinese state-controlled mining enterprise, in exchange for ownership interest in certain assets and bonds. Chinalco was already a major shareholder, having bought up 9% of the company in a surprise move in early 2008; its ownership stake had risen to 9.8% by 2014, making it Rio Tinto's biggest investor. The proposed investment structure reportedly involves $ 12.3 billion for

5624-568: Was partially motivated as a response to North Limited's 1999 bid to have Rio Tinto's Pilbara railway network declared open access . The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission regulatory body approved the acquisition in August 2000, and the purchase was completed in October of the same year. That year, Rio Tinto also bought North Limited and Ashton Mining for US$ 4 billion, adding additional resources in aluminium, iron ore, diamonds and coal. In 2001, it bought (under Coal & Allied)

5700-529: Was rejected on the same grounds. Meanwhile, the Chinese government-owned resources group Chinalco and the US aluminium 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. BHP Billiton's bid was withdrawn on 25 November 2008, with the BHP citing market instability from the global financial crisis of 2008–2009 . On 1 February 2009, Rio Tinto management announced it

5776-541: Was the company's investment in copper mines in Northern Rhodesia , later Zambia , which it eventually consolidated into the Rhokana Corporation. 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. Rio Tinto Company, supported by its international investments,

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