Rio Tinto Says New Australian Tax To Slow Approval Of Projects

MELBOURNE, May 25, 2010 (Dow Jones Commodities News via Comtex) -- Rio Tinto Ltd. (RTP) Chief Executive Tom Albanese said Wednesday it will take longer for the company to approve growth projects in Australia because of the government's proposed new mining tax.

Albanese said the possible imposition of the new Resource Super Profits Tax was adding a new layer of complexity to investment decisions in Australia.

"It is going to take longer for anything to come to the investment committee or the board as a consequence of this," he told reporters after the miner's annual general meeting in Melbourne.

Chairman Jan du Plessis said the debate over the tax rates miners are currently paying had become too heated in recent days and that the company was now planning to ask its auditors to prepare a definitive response to the government's assertions, which the company would release at a later date.

He said he had been encouraged by the support of sharehodlers for the company's position on the tax and urged the government to reconsider a proposal he said was fundamentally flawed.

Asked if Aluminum Corp. Of China was seeking to invest in the Oyu Tolgoi copper joint venture, Albanese said there were now lots of parties keen to invest in Mongoila due to the quality of the asset and the progress that had been made on the project.