Flooding impacts supply of aluminium
from Boyne Smelters Ltd

13 January 2011

Rio Tinto Alcan today gave notice to its affected customers of a force majeure event impacting the supply of aluminium from Boyne Smelters Limited near Gladstone as a result of the severe flooding across Queensland.

The floods have cut road and rail access between Gladstone and Brisbane and the Brisbane port is closed, preventing deliveries to some domestic and international customers.

Rio Tinto Alcan is investigating alternative arrangements for customers, including shipping aluminium directly out of the Gladstone port.

Rio Tinto Alcan is currently unable to provide an estimate of the full impact of the disruption to the supply of aluminium from Boyne Smelters Limited or the duration of the force majeure declaration.

About Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southern Africa.

Rio Tinto