Alcan Forging: Joint Venture With Czech Partner Strojmetal for Further Expansion of Forging Activities

PARIS, October 19, 2010 - Alcan Forging, a business of Alcan Engineered Products (Rio Tinto Group)
has entered into a Joint Venture with Strojmetal Kamenice s.r.o. The creation
of this Joint Venture, named "Alcan Strojmetal Aluminium Forging s.r.o.",
materializes a longstanding partnership between the two companies since 2000,
which primarily develops and manufactures innovative forgings such as
automotive chassis parts, decorative applications, power train components as
well as industrial products made from aluminium.

The headquarters of the Joint Venture, of which Alcan Singen GmbH holds
50 percent, will be in Kamenice, 30 kilometres southeast of Prague, Czech
Republic. Leading automotive manufacturers and subcontractors located in
Europe and Asia are already being served from this site. Product development,
marketing and distribution will be provided by a new subsidiary company in
Singen, Germany. The production site in Kamenice will be expanded with
additional fully automated aluminium extrusion press lines in order to comply
with the fast-growing demand in this segment.

"With this Joint Venture we want to further improve our successful,
long-term cooperation with Kamenice" said Hans-Gerd Roczyn, General Manager
of Alcan Forging. Alcan's engineered forging solutions contribute
considerably to reducing weight and improving handling characteristics in
future generations of vehicles and engines. The Alcan Strojmetal Joint
Venture therefore also anticipates strong customer demand. "With the awarding
of several important supply contracts from global automotive manufacturers
and thanks to our forging skills and modern production processes, with this
JV, we are well-equipped for the global market," added Miroslav Jelinek,
Managing Director of Strojmetal s.r.o..

About Strojmetal Kamenice s.r.o.

Strojmetal Kamenice s.r.o. was founded in 1822 for the conversion of
non-ferrous metals. With the move to industrial aluminium production in 1942,
the product portfolio changed accordingly. Within the last decades, the
company concentrated increasingly on the production of high-quality,
innovative aluminium forgings.

As one of the longest-standing industrial sites in the Czech Republic,
Strojmetal has been able to make a name for itself as a reliable and
technically competent partner in Europe.

About Alcan Engineered Products

Alcan Engineered Products is a global sector-leader strongly committed to
developing innovative, value-added aluminium products for a broad scope of
markets and applications, including aerospace, mass transportation,
automotive, packaging, energy and building. With around 10,000 employees
located in 26 countries and a commercial presence in more than 60 markets
across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific
region, Alcan Engineered Products is organised around businesses dedicated to
performance materials in the areas of aluminium rolled products, extrusions
and automotive structures, and international trade.

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.

    For further information:

    Alcan Strojmetal Aluminium Forging
    Hans-Gerd Roczyn
    Tel: +49-7731-80-2351
    hansgerd.roczyn@alcan.com
    www.alcan-singen.de, www.strojmetal.cz

    Alcan Engineered Products
    Christine Chanet
    Tel: +33(0)1-57-00-21-65
    christine.chanet@alcan.com

For further information: Alcan Strojmetal Aluminium Forging, Hans-Gerd Roczyn, Tel: +49-7731-80-2351, hansgerd.roczyn at alcan.com; Alcan Engineered Products, Christine Chanet, Tel: +33(0)1-57-00-21-65, christine.chanet at alcan.com