Kennecott cont. to cut costs

Rio Tinto PLC
27 November 2001

                       Kennecott continues to cut costs


Rio Tinto's wholly owned Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation (KUC) today
announced several steps to cut costs and improve productivity to help secure
its future.  KUC will permanently close its North Concentrator and make
consequential changes to its mining operations as well as outsource smelter
maintenance.

KUC announced the permanent closure of the North Concentrator near Magna, Utah
where operations were temporarily suspended in June 2001.  On an annual basis,
KUC's North Concentrator processed approximately 12 million tons* of ore and
produced about 60,000 tons of copper in concentrate.  Because of the closure,
concentrate sales, which had averaged about 100,000 tons per year in recent
years, will cease.  As a result of this closure, associated rail ore delivery
systems at the mine will be shut down and the equipment fleet matched to the
new mine plan.  Two electric shovels and rotary drills together with part of
the haul truck fleet will be idled.  These changes will affect about 30 jobs.
KUC anticipates that copper production for 2002, based on a lower ore grade at
the mine, will be about 320,000 tons.

KUC will outsource the maintenance function at its smelter, affecting
approximately 150 positions. The decision was arrived at only after the
company and union failed to negotiate a reasonable, practical and mutually
agreeable alternative.  The implementation effects will now be discussed and
negotiated with union officials.  Eligible employees may be offered enhanced
retirement benefits or other employment within the company, and there may be
some forced reduction in numbers.

The balance sheet value of KUC's assets is being reviewed in light of these
changes and the deterioration in copper prices.  The outcome of this review
will be reflected in year-end accounts.

Bruce Farmer, KUC's President and CEO, said:  'These are tough but necessary
actions for our operations in response to the difficult economic climate.
Copper prices remain at record lows and 50 percent of American copper
production is idled.  We must reduce overall costs by 20 percent and improve
productivity significantly.'


For further information, please contact:


LONDON                                     AUSTRALIA
Media Relations                            Media Relations
Lisa Cullimore                             Ian Head
+ 44 (0) 7730 418 385                      [phone]

Investor Relations                         Investor Relations
Peter Cunningham                           Dave Skinner
+ 44 (0) 7711 596 570                      [phone]
Jonathan Murrin                            Daphne Morros
+ 44 (0) 20 7753 2326                       [phone]


Website: www.riotinto.com



Note to Editors


With an initial investment of $880 million in the mid 1990's, KUC built a new
smelter and expanded and modernized its refinery.  The smelter is the key
facility that processes copper bearing minerals, through heat and oxidation in
furnaces, into 99.5 percent copper metal called anodes.  The anodes are then
transported by rail to the nearby refinery, where they are further processed
into copper cathodes, which are sold to KUC's customers.  KUC's smelter is the
cleanest, most energy efficient copper smelter in the world.  It captures 99.9
percent of sulfur given off during the smelting process, and uses waste heat
to co-generate about 60 percent of the plant's electric power needs.  On an
annual basis, the smelter is designed to produce about 320,000 tons of copper
anodes.


*All tons are short tons of 2,000 pounds weight.  All dollars are US dollars.