Rio Tinto earnings fall, but metal demand grows

Rio Tinto Group, the successful bidder for Alcan Inc. and the world's second biggest iron ore producer, today reported first-half net profit fell to $3.25 billion U.S. from $3.8 billion U.S. a year earlier because of equipment and labor cost pressures, especially in Australia. But surging Chinese demand for base metals, iron ore and aluminum shows no sign of slowing. "Everything is lined up and ready to go for the $38.1 billion U.S. takeover of Alcan," said Rio's CEO Tom Albanese. Rio's top profit producer is copper, followed by iron ore.