United for growth!

History isn’t bunk to Rio Tinto’s shareholders. Questioners at the London AGM this year asked for a refresher on what it means to be a Dual Listed Company – and how it all came about. John Hughes, who was head of Public Affairs at the time, digs deep into his memory, and into the archives….

Rio Tinto’s reincarnation through a dual listed company unification in December 1995 was as momentous a step as any in the much longer histories of Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited, known then as The RTZ Corporation and CRA Limited, respectively. In the years since, much has happened, not least in the combined Group’s market capitalization soaring from under US$20bn in late1995 to over US$60bn ten years later.

At the time, CRA was an icon of Australian industry whilst UK based RTZ led the global mining business. RTZ was, however, little known in Australia even though it had held a significant shareholding in CRA for more than 30 years. In fact, both companies originated from the 1962 merger of two British companies: The Rio Tinto Company and The Consolidated Zinc Corporation.

In 1954, The Rio Tinto Company sold most of the Spanish mine that it had been formed to acquire in 1873 and which gave it its name. Exploration financed by the sale had found many prospects and projects across the globe – but The Rio Tinto Company had nowhere near enough money to develop them. Consolidated Zinc, formed in 1905 initially to treat and then mine Australian lead, zinc and silver ores at Broken Hill (New South Wales’ “Fabulous Hill”), had fewer opportunities but the much needed financial muscle to turn The Rio Tinto Company’s dreams into reality.

The Hoover connection