The World Coal Assn (WCA) has appointed Harry Kenyon-Slaney, ceo of Rio Tinto’s energy business, as its new chairman.

Rio Tinto is cutting jobs at its Hail Creek metallurgical coal mine in Australia’s Queensland as it looks to “improve productivity and reduce costs”.

Hard coking coal output from Rio Tinto’s Australian operations fell 28% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2014 as the company upped production of thermal coal and ramped up its new Kestrel South mine.

Rio Tinto has secured a $4.4 billion project financing deal for the underground development of the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Mongolia, the miner said on Tuesday December 15.

The Chinese economy has been slowing gradually for some time but efforts to stimulate it will eventually take hold and will probably succeed, the head of copper and diamonds at Rio Tinto has said.

Alcoa and Rio Tinto have set up a joint-venture firm with investment from the governments of Canada and the Canadian province of Quebec as well as technology firm Apple to license and sell technology creating carbon-free aluminium.

Indian state-owned consortium International Coal Ventures (ICVL) will buy Rio Tinto’s Mozambique coking coal operations, according to reports.

The news that Rio Tinto Alcan is closing the Lynemouth aluminium smelter in north-east England marks the end of a chapter that began more than 40 years ago.

Rio Tinto has reached a run rate of 290 million tpy at its Pilbara iron ore system of mines, rail and ports in Western Australia, two months ahead of schedule.

Rio Tinto is in preliminary talks to sell its stake in the Grasberg mine to the Indonesian government, according to the chief executive officer of Freeport-McMoRan.