Rio's smelter talks

Rio Tinto has confirmed it's held talks with a number of groups about partnering up to build an aluminium smelter in Malaysia. A company spokesman says Rio hasn't yet decided if it will go ahead with the project which would benefit from demand in China. But the Malaysian Reserve newspaper reported the miner will sign an agreement with Malaysia's Cahya Mata to build a US$2 billion smelter. It said construction will begin next year with completion flagged for 2010. The move comes as Rio agreed to acquire Canadian aluminium producer Alcan for $43 billion in cash.