Rio Tinto seen poised to scrap iron ore jv with BHP

Global miner Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) looked set to abandon its $116 billion iron-ore joint venture with rival BHP Billiton( ASX:BHP, a deal unpopular with customers, regulators and many of Rio Tinto’s own investors.

The press release is quoted as saying:

An Australian newspaper, quoting from an extraordinary leak of Rio Tinto boardroom discussions, said on Wednesday the world’s second-largest iron ore miner was determined to walk away from the venture. BHP Billiton (BLT.L) has talked about a Plan B if the joint venture does not go ahead, which would give them at least some of the $10 billion in savings that are the big prize in the joint venture.

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