New iron ore agreement

Rio Tinto PLC
21 April 2004

New iron ore agreement strengthens Rio Tinto's China relationship



Rio Tinto Iron Ore and Shanghai Baosteel Group Corporation (Baosteel) have
signed a Heads of Agreement for a new ten-year iron ore supply contract,
beginning in 2006.



Under the terms of the agreement, Rio Tinto Iron Ore will supply up to seven
million tonnes of products per year from Hamersley Iron and the Robe River Joint
Venture.



The new supply arrangements are in addition to both the 10 million tonnes of
iron ore that Hamersley will supply Baosteel each year under the BaoHI Ranges
joint venture formed in 2002, and existing contracts with Robe River.



Rio Tinto Iron Ore chief executive Chris Renwick said the new supply agreement
reflects the success of the BaoHI Ranges joint venture.



'When fully implemented, these arrangements together with existing commitments
mean that Rio Tinto Iron Ore will supply the Shanghai Baosteel Group with around
20 million tonnes of iron ore per year over the long term,' said Mr Renwick.



'This strategic partnership will build on the existing close cooperation between
our two companies and allow mutually beneficial commercial opportunities to be
explored in the future.'



'We are very pleased to be able to extend our relationship further with Baosteel
and look forward to assisting with its plans to expand its steel production
capacity to meet China's increasing demand.'



The agreement follows the official opening of the Hamersley Iron (54%) and
Baosteel (46%) owned Eastern Range mine by the Federal Minister for Industry,
Tourism and Resources, The Hon Ian Macfarlane MP, this week. The Eastern Range
mine was developed at an initial cost of US$64 million.





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