For the purposes of this Report, the Group comprises Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited and the entities they control as at 31 December 2009 (hereafter “Rio Tinto”).

As a founding member of the International Council on Mining and Metals (‘ICMM’) Rio Tinto has committed to obtaining assurance over specified subject matter in its Report in line with ICMM’s Sustainable Development Framework: Assurance Procedure (‘the ICMM Assurance Framework’).

We have been engaged to provide limited assurance on selected sustainable development subject matter (the “selected subject matter”) included in the Sustainable Development Review Section (“SDR Section”) of Rio Tinto’s Annual report (the “Annual Report”) for the year ended 31 December 2009.

The selected subject matter

The selected subject matter was chosen by Rio Tinto with consideration given to the subject matters contained within the ICMM Assurance Framework (“ICMM Subject Matters”). It comprises the following information reported within the SDR Section of the Annual report:

• Rio Tinto’s assertion that it has incorporated the requirements of the ten Sustainable Development principles of the ICMM into its own policies, strategies and standards (“ICMM Subject Matter 1”)
• Rio Tinto’s assertions regarding the approach that it has adopted to identify and prioritise its material sustainable development risks and opportunities included within the SDR Section of the Annual report (“ICMM Subject Matter 2”)
• Rio Tinto’s assertions regarding the existence and status of implementation of systems and approaches used to manage the following sustainable development risk areas (“ICMM Subject Matter 3”):
  • Safety
  • Health
  • Greenhouse gas emissions
  • Energy use
  • Water
• The following performance data related to the material sustainable development risks identified under ICMM Subject Matter 3 (“ICMM Subject Matter 4”):
  • All injury frequency rate
  • Lost time injury frequency rate
  • Number of fatalities
  • New cases of occupational illness per 10,000 employees
  • Employees exposed to an 8 hour noise dose of more than 85 dB(A) per 10,000 employees average over a full shift
  • Total greenhouse gas emissions
  • Total energy use
  • Total freshwater withdrawn

We note that the selected subject matter did not extend to:

• Rio Tinto’s self declared application level of the Global Reporting Initiative (“GRI”) G3 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (“ICMM Subject Matter 5”) or
• The alignment of Rio Tinto’s sustainability policies against ICMM position statements.

Respective responsibilities of Rio Tinto management and PricewaterhouseCoopers

The directors of Rio Tinto are responsible for preparing the selected subject matter based on Rio Tinto Criteria for Reporting on Sustainable Development Performance (the “Reporting Criteria”). The Reporting Criteria are available on Rio Tinto’s website www.riotinto.com/ourapproach.

Our responsibility is to express a conclusion on the selected subject matter based on our procedures. The procedures selected depend on our judgment, including an assessment of the risks of material misstatement.

We read other information included within the SDR section in the Annual report and consider whether it is consistent with the knowledge obtained through our procedures. We consider the implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent material inconsistencies with the selected subject matter. Our responsibilities do not extend to any other information.

This report, including the conclusion, has been prepared for Rio Tinto to assist the directors in reporting Rio Tinto’s sustainable development performance. We consent to the inclusion of this report within the Annual report to enable Rio Tinto’s members to verify that the Directors have discharged their governance responsibilities by commissioning an independent assurance report in connection with the selected subject matter. We do not accept or assume responsibility for our work or this report to anyone other than the directors as a body and to Rio Tinto save where terms are expressly agreed and with our prior consent in writing.

Inherent limitations

Non-financial performance information is often subject to more inherent limitations than financial information, given the characteristics of the subject matter and the methods adopted for the definition and gathering of information. Qualitative interpretations of relevance, materiality and the accuracy of sustainable development data and assertions are subject to individual assumptions and judgements. It is important to read the subject matter in the context of Rio Tinto’s Reporting Criteria.

Assurance work performed

We conducted our assurance engagement in accordance with International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 (Revised) – “Assurance Engagements other than Audits and Reviews of Historical Financial Information” issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (“ISAE 3000”). Our procedures applied to the selected subject matter primarily comprised:

• Making enquiries of relevant management of Rio Tinto
• Evaluating the design of the key processes and controls for managing and reporting the subject matter
• Testing, on a selective basis, the preparation and collation of the subject matter prepared by the management of Rio Tinto
• Undertaking analytical procedures over the reported data
• Reviewing a sample of relevant management information and documentation supporting assertions made in the subject matter

A limited assurance engagement is substantially less in scope than a reasonable assurance engagement under ISAE 3000. It generally excludes procedures such as testing the operating effectiveness of controls and corroborative data testing.

Conclusion

Based on our review, which is not an audit, nothing has come to our attention which causes us to conclude that the selected subject matter for the year ended 31 December 2009 has not been prepared in all material respects in accordance with the Reporting Criteria.

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Liza Maimone, Partner