Palabora Mining Company

Rio Tinto PLC
17 September 2003


Date: 17 September 2003
Ref: PR318g

Rio Tinto's 49.2 per cent owned subsidiary, Palabora Mining Company, issued the
following news release in Johannesburg.



Palabora Mining Company results of the rights offer and interest rate
determination

Results of the rights offer

The directors of the company have pleasure in announcing the following results
of the renounceable rights offer by the company of 849,465 floating rate
partially subordinated unsecured redeemable convertible debentures ('convertible
debentures') at a subscription price of R1,000 per convertible debenture, in the
ratio of 3 convertible debentures for every 100 ordinary shares held in the
company at the close of business on Friday, 22 August 2003 ('the rights offer'):

•    Rio Tinto South Africa Limited ('the underwriter'), Anglo South Africa 
     Capital (Proprietary) Limited ('the sub-underwriter'), Palabora Holdings 
     Limited and Rio Tinto Investment Holdings B.V., irrevocably undertook to 
     subscribe for or procure subscriptions for all the convertible debentures 
     to which they were entitled and accordingly 661,865 convertible debentures 
     (78 per cent of the total number of convertible debentures offered in terms 
     of the rights offer) have been issued to those shareholders;

•    other shareholders and their renounces subscribed for 186,729 of the 
     available 187,600 convertible debentures.  This equates to an acceptance 
     rate of 99.9 per cent of the convertible debentures available after taking 
     into account the irrevocable undertakings described above;

•    excess applications received were greater than the number of unsubscribed 
     convertible debentures available for allocation.  The directors of the 
     company exercised their discretion in allocating the 871 convertible 
     debentures for which subscriptions were not received.  Accordingly, the 
     underwriter and sub-underwriter were not called upon to subscribe for any 
     underwritten convertible debentures.


Interest rate determination

The interest rate in respect of the first interest period of the convertible
debentures will be 14.393 per cent determined in accordance with the terms and
conditions of the convertible debentures.



For further information, please contact:

LONDON                                         AUSTRALIA

Media Relations                                Media Relations
Lisa Cullimore                                 Ian Head
Office:  [phone]                  Office:  [phone]
Mobile: [phone]                   Mobile: [phone]

Investor Relations                             Investor Relations
Peter Cunningham                               Dave Skinner
Office:  [phone]                  Office:  [phone]
Mobile: [phone]                   Mobile: [phone]
Richard Brimelow                               Daphne Morros
Office:  [phone]                  Office:  [phone]
Mobile: [phone]                   Mobile: [phone]

Website: www.riotinto.com




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