Jobs Cut at Argyle Mine as Rio Tinto CEO Expresses Love for Diamonds

In a Beijing interview with Bloomberg Television, Sam Walsh, CEO of Rio Tinto Group, said that his company remains interested in the diamond industry and may provide an update on “opportunities at the Diavik mine” in 2015.

Walsh said:

I  love diamonds. I think it’s a seriously good business and as you go forward the opportunities for that are seriously good. It’s not an asset that I would like to divest of, no. It’s an asset that I would like to nurture.

There are parts of the business that we have tidied up and divested of. There’s a little bit of further clean up to do, but nothing major.

It looks like some of that clean up may be happening at the Argyle diamond mine. The West Australian reported Wednesday that Rio Tinto has cut further jobs there, stating:

A spokeswoman for Rio Tinto confirmed Argyle had cut positions last week, but could not comment on the number of positions deemed redundant.

‘Like others in the mining industry, the Argyle Diamond Mine is focused on reducing costs and streamlining its operations. Argyle has decided to reduce some support roles in the business as part of its ongoing work to ensure it has a competitive strategy and a sustainable cost base,’ she said.

Click here to read the full report from The West Australian.