Rio Tinto reportedly in bauxite-deal talks with Chinalco

MELBOURNE (MarketWatch) -- Rio Tinto Ltd. /quotes/comstock/13*!rtp/quotes/nls/rtp (RTP 159.25, +5.39, +3.50%) Chief Financial Officer Guy Elliott has reportedly said the miner is in the very early stages of talks with Aluminum Corp. Of China Ltd., or Chinalco, over a possible bauxite and alumina deal. The Australian Financial Review newspaper reported Monday that Elliott has told analysts the talks have only just started and are a long way from materializing. Rio Tinto's relations with China have soured after it abandoned a US$19.5 billion alliance with Chinalco earlier this year, turning instead to an iron ore joint venture with rival BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU), which is opposed by the Chinese. The company is also locked in a protracted and heated round of iron ore price talks with Chinese steel mills and has seen four of its employees detained for allegedly stealing commercial secrets relating to the pricing of iron ore. However, if serious talks have restarted with Chinalco on possible cooperation it may be a sign that tensions are beginning to ease. Rio and Chinalco have adjacent bauxite deposits in the Australian state of Queensland and have held talks on possible cooperation there in recent years. Rio Tinto was not immediately available to comment on the report.