Performance

The Energy & Minerals group comprises thermal coal, coking coal, uranium, borates, talc and titanium dioxide feedstock operations. It is one of the largest suppliers of these products in its key markets, the US and Asia. Its coal interests are located in Australia and the US and supply the seaborne traded and Australian and US domestic markets.

These interests comprise Rio Tinto Coal Australia (RTCA) which manages the group's interests in nine coal mines in Queensland and New South Wales, and Rio Tinto Energy America (RTEA) which owns and operates four open cut coal mines in Montana and Wyoming. Rio Tinto is seeking to divest RTEA. The group also manages Colowyo Coal in Colorado, US; Colowyo was separated from the remainder of RTEA late in the year as it is not part of an asset divestment programme. The group's reserve and resource position in thermal and coking coal is sufficient to underpin significant greenfield and brownfield expansions in the future.

Rio Tinto Uranium supplies uranium oxide produced at its majority owned mines in Australia and Namibia to electric power utilities worldwide. Rio Tinto Uranium is currently the world's second largest uranium supplier.

The Minerals part of the group comprises Rio Tinto Minerals (RTM), a global leader in borates and talc supply and science, and Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium (RTIT), the market leader in titanium dioxide feedstock, used in the manufacture of pigments for paint and plastics. During the year management of Dampier Salt was transferred to the Rio Tinto Iron Ore group due to geographic proximity.

At 31 December 2008, the Energy and Minerals group had operating assets of US$5,639 million, which accounted for ten per cent of the Group's operating assets compared to US$6,517 million of operating assets at 31 December 2007. In 2008, the Energy and Minerals group contributed US$10,998 million in revenue and US$2,887 million in underlying earnings, which accounted for 19 per cent and 28 per cent of the Group's gross sales revenue and underlying earnings, respectively, compared to US$7,403 million of revenue and US$687 of gross sales revenue and underlying earnings in 2007.

Preston Chiaro, chief executive, Energy & Minerals, is based in London.

*A reconciliation of the net earnings with underlying earnings for 2006, 2007 and 2008 as determined under EU IFRS is set out in the Group financial performance.
All amounts presented by the product groups exclude net interest and other centrally reported items.