We’re Here to Stay

At Rio Tinto, we are proud of our 108-year history in Canada. Our Canadian roots date back to the Northern Aluminium Company (NAC), which began in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec in 1902 and ultimately became Alcan. In 2007, we acquired and merged the world’s aluminum leader with Rio Tinto Aluminium, renaming it Rio Tinto Alcan.

Rio Tinto’s international roots grew out of mining copper in Rio Tinto, Spain in 1873 and recovering zinc from mine waste at Broken Hill, Australia in 1905. Today we are a leading mining group headquartered in the UK and present on six continents. We find, mine and process aluminum, copper, diamonds, coal, ura-nium, gold, iron ore and industrial miner-als such as borax, titanium dioxide, salt and talc.

FROM IRON ORE TO DIAMONDS

Today our Canadian assets stretch from coast to coast to coast. In addition to alu- mina and aluminum, we mine and manu- facture iron ore, diamonds and titanium dioxide. Our Canadian operations also include exploration, R&D, technical and sales service centres, as well as port, rail and hydroelectric power facilities.

Through our majority interests in the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC), we are Canada’s largest iron ore pellet pro- ducer. IOC’s iron ore mine, concentrator and pellet-making plant is located in Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Like IOC, Quebec-based Rio Tinto, Fer et Titane (RTFT) began well over half-a- century ago. Wholly owned by Rio Tinto, RTFT is the leading producer of titanifer- ous slags, used in paints, plastics, textiles and paper. RTFT’s mine at Lac Tio is the world’s largest massive rock ilmenite deposit and its metallurgical processing facility in Sorel-Tracy is the only one of its kind worldwide.

Our Diavik Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories plays a central role in making Canada the world’s third largest diamond producer by value. In 2009, Diavik’s production was 5.6 million carats.

Headquartered in Montreal, Rio Tinto Alcan supplies high quality bauxite, alu- mina and aluminum worldwide, owns the industry’s leading smelting technology and benefits from an enviable hydroelec- tric power position. It spans six continents and 27 countries, and employs over 23,000 people, including 8,000 in Quebec and British Columbia.

Investing and Growing Responsibly

Over the next two years we will spend US$401 million to expand IOC’s opera- tions and US$787 million to go under- ground at Diavik. We have also recently completed US$250 million in upgrades at RTFT.

At Rio Tinto Alcan, we are investing several billion dollars to expand our Kitimat smelter in B.C., complete both our AP50 technology pilot smelting plant and our spent potlining plant and upgrade our Shipshaw power plant, all in Quebec.

Everywhere we operate in Canada, we seek to create long-term, profitable proj- ects that recognise the importance of good social and environmental outcomes. Employee health and safety are top priori- ties as is engaging with communities to help build a sustainable future. One example of our commitment to growing responsibly is the Rio Tinto Alcan Canada Fund, which will invest more than $15 million over five years to encourage Quebec youth to complete high school.

As I said at the outset, we are proud of our work here in Canada and we thank the Canadian Mining Journal for this opportunity to showcase some of our work on the following pages.