RIO TINTO TO BOOT IRON ORE CHIEF IN FRESH MANAGEMENT SHAKE-UP

One of the main announcements the world’s second largest miner unveiled Tuesday was the departure on July 1 of its iron ore division boss Andrew Harding, once tipped as the most likely person to take the company’s reins.

Chris Salisbury, who currently leads Rio’s copper and coal division, will replace Harding, a 25-year veteran at the firm. His division will focus only on Rio’s operations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, the company said.

A source familiar with the reshuffle told Reuters that Harding had expressed a willingness to stay on at the job he has held since 2013, but it was agreed that the division would benefit from "fresh eyes".

Jacques, formerly head of the copper and coal unit, was appointed in March to replace current CEO Sam Walsh. Such decision, experts said, was part of a master plan to reduce Rio’s reliance on iron ore for profits and become one of the world’s biggest copper producers.

In fact, Rio’s board last month approved a $5.3 billion expansion to more than double output at the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia.

The change of leadership also came right after the group posted an annual net loss of $866m for 2015 because of tumbling commodity prices that have squeezed both small and big players in the mining sector.

Source:http://www.mining.com/rio-tinto-to-boot-iron-ore-chief-in-fresh-management-shake-up/