Norwegian Pension Fund

Statement by Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is surprised and disappointed by the announcement by the Norwegian Finance Minister of the decision to sell the shares that the Norwegian Pension Fund holds in Rio Tinto.

Rio Tinto believes that it has a very good record in its environmental performance, having been an industry leader in this area for many years, and remains committed to continual improvement. The company has its social and environmental performance independently verified each year and rates highly in the FTSE4Good index, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the Business in the Community Corporate Responsibility Index.

Rio Tinto is not the operator of the Grasberg mine in Indonesia, which is the main subject of the Norwegian announcement. This mine is operated by Freeport McMoRan, a US company. Rio Tinto has a 40 per cent stake in the Grasberg mine expansion and co-operates closely with Freeport in operational, social and environmental matters. We are confident that all steps have been taken to ensure that the mine is operating satisfactorily from an environmental viewpoint and this has been borne out by regular audits.

We will be contacting the Norwegian government to ensure that they are aware of the factual position regarding the performance of the Grasberg mine and its impact on the local environment.