164 New Buses for Moscow and St. Petersburg to be Built With Alcan Engineered Products Aluminium Lightweight EcoRange(R) Technology

By Rio Tinto Alcan And Alcan Engineered Products, PRNE
Tuesday, April 27, 2010

PARIS, April 28, 2010 - Alcan Extrusions and Automotive Structures, part of Alcan
Engineered Products - a business unit of Rio Tinto, has received orders from
VOLGABUS of Volzhsky, Russia, for 164 units of the EcoRange(R) system for the
Moscow and St. Petersburg bus operators who have ordered 82 buses each. Alcan
is supplying all of the aluminium extrusions and joining elements for the
production of the low emission city buses. Deliveries will take place from
May to September 2010.

(Photo: www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100428/MO999 )

In 2006 VOLGABUS and Rio Tinto Alcan have signed a cooperation
agreement for the development of a new bus family based on the EcoRange(R)
system. Since then VOLGABUS has built more than 400 buses with EcoRange(R)
body structures for the Russian market. VOLGABUS, founded in 1995, made
innovation a cornerstone of its business philosophy and has quickly become a
well-known force in the Russian bus market.

"We are very pleased that Moscow and St Petersburg have
selected buses from VOLGABUS with our innovative aluminium EcoRange(R) body
structure system," said Paul Warton, president Alcan Extrusions and
Automotive Structures. "Due to its high-end technical characteristics, it
offers multiple benefits to bus builders and operators," he added.

The lightweight EcoRange(R) body will help to reduce fuel
consumption and CO2 emissions. For enhanced passengers safety the EcoRange(R)
body structure includes two aluminium rollover rings.

The EcoRange(R) body structure system, developed by Alcan
Extrusions and Automotive Structures, includes high-performance aluminium
extrusions and aluminium bolted connections for fast and easy assembly.

The 14.7m long, 3-axle buses will have three doors and are
designed for a capacity of 173 passengers. The buses will be powered by a
Deutz 210 kW engine with ZF gear box and ZF axles. VOLGABUS will start
production of the buses in May in its bus plant in the Volgograd region and
delivery to Moscow and St Petersburg will take place until September 2010.

About Alcan Extrusions and Automotive Structures

Alcan Extrusions is a key player in the European market,
focusing on specialty products. It supplies a variety of hard and soft alloy
extrusions, including technically advanced products, to the automotive,
industrial, energy, electrical and building industries, and to manufacturers
of mass transport vehicles and shipbuilders It has production facilities in
France, Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Automotive Structures serves major automotive and
transportation manufacturers with advanced technology, develops and
manufactures aluminum crash management systems, front-end components, cockpit
carriers and body-in-white structural components. It serves customers in
Europe, North America and China with innovative and cost-effective aluminum
solutions.

About Alcan Engineered Products

Alcan Engineered Products is a global sector-leader strongly
committed to developing innovative, value-added aluminium products for a
broad range of markets and applications, including aerospace, mass
transportation, automotive, packaging, energy and building. With around
11,000 employees located in over 27 countries and a commercial presence in
more than 60 markets worldwide, Alcan Engineered Products is organised around
businesses dedicated to performance materials in the areas of aluminium
rolled products, extrusions and automotive structures, aluminium cable and
international trade. Alcan Engineered Products is headquartered in Paris,
France
.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group
headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed
company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities
Exchange.

Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing
mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy
(coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt,
talc) and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in
Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America,
Asia, Europe and southern Africa.

Note to Editors:

A picture accompanying this release is available from the European
Pressphoto Agency (EPA). To view, go to https://webgate.epa.eu/ and log in
using Username: prnewswire and Password: guest01

    For further information, please contact:

    Alcan Extrusions and Automotive Structures
    Janne Katrine Patak
    Tel.: +49-6196-99 888-22
    janne.patak@alcan.com

    Alcan Engineered Products, Paris
    Christine Chanet
    Tel.: +33-1-57-00-21-65
    christine.chanet@alcan.com

For further information, please contact: Alcan Extrusions and Automotive Structures, Janne Katrine Patak, Tel.: +49-6196-99 888-22, janne.patak at alcan.com; Alcan Engineered Products, Paris, Christine Chanet, Tel.: +33-1-57-00-21-65, christine.chanet at alcan.com

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