Rio Tinto Group will be cutting its capital expenditure budget from US$9.0 billion to US$4.0 billion in 2009 in an effort to deal with the global economic downturn. The company will fix capex for 2010 at sustaining levels.
As a result it appears that IOC’s expansion in western Labrador will be slowed or deferred beyond 2010. That may change if markets improve in the meantime.
Rio Tinto announced its 2008 results and 2009 plans on 12 February.
At the same time the company announced a new venture with Chinalco which will see the state-owned Chinese company obtain interest in eight Rio Tinto mines globally.
IOC is not among them.
-srbp-
