Top miner Rio Tinto is seeking to sell some $5 billion in Australian coal and other mineral assets by 2014’s end, in cost cutting measures by leaving under-performing and non-core units. The move comes after CEO Sam Walsh’s declaration this year to pursue an “unrelenting focus” on shareholder value against a backdrop of slowing growth in China and shrinking demand for mineral commodities.
In 2012, 90% of the company’s profits were generated from iron ore, with the remainder from copper mining in Chile. The U.S. Rio Tinto has also written down aluminum and coal mining assets by $14 billion; Rio Tinto is targeting two-thirds of its $5 billion cuts in energy—including coal and uranium, and aluminum.
