Rio Tinto : Increase to Mount Thorley Warkworth Mineral Resources

Rio Tinto today announces an increase of Rio Tinto Coal Australia's managed thermal coal resources at Mount Thorley Warkworth in New South Wales, Australia, compared to the previous estimates reported in Rio Tinto's 2015 Annual Report. The announcement of this increase is made simultaneously with the announcement by Rio Tinto that it has entered into a binding agreement for the sale of its Australian wholly-owned subsidiary Coal & Allied Industries Limited, which in turn holds an 80 per cent interest in the Mt Thorley mine and a 55.6 per cent interest in the Warkworth mine (as well as a 67.6 per cent interest in the Hunter Valley Operations mine and a 36.5 per cent interest in a coal export terminal at the Port of Newcastle).

The updated Mineral Resources are reported in accordance with the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, 2012 (JORC Code) and ASX Listing Rules. As such, the reported increases relating to Mount Thorley Warkworth require the additional supporting information set out in this release and its appendix.

Mount Thorley Mineral Resources exclusive of Ore Reserves have increased by 208 Mt, from 114 Mt to 322 Mt.

Warkworth Mineral Resources exclusive of Ore Reserves have increased by 353 Mt, from 613 Mt to 966 Mt.

This increase in Mineral Resources reflects a continuation of work on Rio Tinto Coal Australia deposits previously announced on 28 November 2014 and 3 March 2016. The updates are based on a rigorous examination of leases that included a reinterpretation of the geological model, employment of new datasets and adopting improved Mineral Resource estimation methods.

Minerals Resources are quoted on a 100 per cent basis. Rio Tinto's interest as at 24 January 2017 is listed in the schedule.