Rio Tinto Alcan and Alma Works employees agree on new labour agreement

　　Rio Tinto Alcan and Alma Works employees agree on a new collective labour agreement for the Alma aluminium smelter in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec.

　　"We are extremely pleased that the employees voted in favour of the tentative agreement tabled earlier this week. This is excellent news for our employees, their families, the community, our customers and our shareholders. The agreement will help protect the competitiveness of the Alma plant in the future," stated Etienne Jacques, Chief Operating Officer, Rio Tinto Alcan Primary Metal, North America.

　　Over the next few days, Rio Tinto Alcan management will initiate the return to work process for the employees, followed by the progressive restart of the smelter's production cells.

　　About Rio Tinto

　　Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

　　Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt) and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southern Africa.