Chinalco: Simandou Due Diligence Ongoing

Chinalco President Xiong Weiping has said his company is in the midst of conducting due diligence on its $1.35 billion deal with Rio Tinto PLC to develop the Simandou iron ore mine in Guinea.

Speaking in his capacity as chairman of Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd, Chinalco's listed unit known as Chalco, Xiong said Chinalco will decide on starting the feasibility study on the project once due diligence is completed.

On 21 March Chinalco and Rio Tinto agreed on a non-binding memorandum of understanding to set up a joint venture to develop the west African property, the first major step between the two companies to repair relations after Chinalco's plan to invest $19.5 billion in Rio Tinto collapsed last June.