Rio Tinto receives all regulatory approvals for the Alcan Offer

MONTREAL, Oct. 18 - All regulatory approvals required for the global closing of the proposed acquisition of Alcan by a subsidiary of Rio Tinto have now been received. The Offer is scheduled to expire at 6:00 p.m. Canadian Eastern Time on October 23, 2007, and Alcan Inc. shareholders are encouraged to tender their shares to the Offer as soon as possible. Shareholders requiring assistance to tender their shares or who have questions regarding the Offer should contact their broker or Georgeson, the Information Agent for the Offer, at the following numbers: North American toll free: 1 (888) 605-7629 European Union free call: 00 800 6540 6540 Australia free call: 1 (800) 216 071 About Rio Tinto Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London 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, talc) 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. About Alcan Alcan Inc. is a leading global materials company, delivering high quality products and services worldwide. With world-class technology and operations in bauxite mining, alumina processing, primary metal smelting, power generation, aluminum fabrication, engineered solutions as well as flexible and specialty packaging, today's Alcan is well positioned to meet and exceed its customers' needs. Alcan is represented by 68,000 employees, including its joint ventures, in 61 countries and regions, and posted revenues of US$23.6 billion in 2006. The Company has featured on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes consecutively since 2002.