Rio Tinto Says Working With Guinean Govt On Simandou Dispute

Rio Tinto PLC (RTP) said Thursday it is working with the government of Guinea to try and resolve a dispute over the tenure of the miner's Simandou iron ore venture in the West African country. Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive Sam Walsh said company executives met with the Guinean finance and mine ministers Wednesday, "in terms of taking those discussions forward". "Clearly, we have met our obligations," Walsh told reporters in Perth, in reference to Rio Tinto's US$250 million spent to date on Simandou. However, if the Guinean government persists in its "intent behind the letter we received, clearly the whole thing will be drawn out in a long legal battle". Rio Tinto said in June the Guinean president's office had sent the miner a letter questioning the validity of the mining concession for Simandou, a key growth project the miner has been promoting as it fights to fend off predator BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU). -By Stephen Bell, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires