Support for HIV trials

Rio Tinto is among eight mining companies that have agreed to pay for trials of a new HIV vaccine in South Africa.

Australian biotech firm Virax Holdings Ltd has applied to South Africa's drugs regulator for approval to conduct a clinical trial of its VIR201 HIV vaccine.

"The Virax therapeutic vaccine may fill a gap in helping HIV positive individuals maintain good health and live productively," said Elaine Dorward-King, global practice leader, Health Safety and Environment. "This is so given that a suitable preventive vaccine is likely to be ten to 15 years away from being commercially available. Our participation in supporting this trial is one way to demonstrate our sustainable development commitment in real terms."

Besides Rio Tinto, the sponsors are BHP-Billiton, Gold Fields, Harmony, Lonmin, Mitsubishi, Nippon Mining & Metals, and Sumitomo Metal Mining. An estimated one in nine of South Africa`s population, or more than 5.5 million people, are infected with HIV. Mining has been the sector hit hardest, according to a survey by South Africa's Bureau for Economic Research.