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Authorized form of name
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Description area
Dates of existence
History
Rio Tinto plc was formed in June 1997 with the merger of The RTZ Corporation PLC and its' 49% owned associate company CRA Limited (of Australia).
The Rio Tinto-Zinc Corporation Limited was formed in March 1962 on the merger of The Rio Tinto Company Ltd (Inc 1873) and The Consolidated Zinc Corporation Limited(Inc 1949). After the merger, the operations of the Rio Tinto Company and The Consolidated Zinc Corporation were restructured, with the parent company, RTZ, housed in London.
Rio Tinto's existing public company in Australia, Rio Tinto Mining Company of Australia Limited was renamed Conzinc RioTinto of Australia Limited in 1962. Conzinc RioTinto was used as a vehicle for restructuring RTZ's Australian assets. Part of the shares were Australian owned and there were a majority of Australian directors on the board. This was a pattern that was followed in subsequent developments around the world. In August 1980 Conzinc RioTinto became known as CRA Limited. This name was changed to Rio Tinto Limited in June 1997.
The Rio Tinto Company Limited was formed in 1873 by a consortium of banks to acquire the Spanish copper mine of Rio Tinto in Huelva, Spain. Headed by Hugh Matheson, the consortium agreed to pay 92,756,592 pesetas (equivalent to £3,500,000) for the freehold of the mines. The first instalment of 3422,680 was paid towards the purchase price as well as 9 pagares, or promissory notes, the last of which was due for payment in 1883. Matheson became the chairman and the company was registered on 29 March 1873 in London. A railway between Huelva and the mines was constructed together with a pier at Huelva. In 1954 the Rio Tinto Company sold the mines to the newly formed Compañía Española de Minas de Río Tinto (owned by a consortium of Spanish banks), retaining only a one-third interest. The remaining interest in was divested in 1990. The proceeds of the sale in 1954 were invested on projects in Africa such as Big Ben, Patchway, Sandwana, Empress Nickel and Palabora, in Australasia such as Mary Kathleen and in Canada on the Rio Algom mines.
The Consolidated Zinc Corporation Limited was incorporated in 1949 to acquire the interests of The Zinc Corporation Limited (formed 1911), The Sulphide Corporation (reg 1898), The Broken Hill Corporation Limited (registered 1947) and The Imperial Smelting Corporation Limited (inc 1929). The Zinc Corporation Limited was formed to treat the tailing dumps from the Broken Hill mine in New South Wales Australia. The Broken Hill Corporation Limited held a substantial interest in the New Broken Hill Consolidated Limited mine. The Sulphide Corporation Limited was a producer of sulphuric acid, superphosphate and cement. The Imperial Smelting Corporation based in the United Kingdom was the sole zinc producer in the country mainly from raw material from the Broken Hill mines, it also produced sulphuric acid, chemicals, fertilisers and fluorine and fluorine compounds in plants in Avonmouth, Avon, Swansea and West Glamorgan. In 1955 Consolidated Zinc discovered the huge Weipa bauxite deposits in Queensland, the basis for the development of a major integrated aluminium industry in Australia and New Zealand.
Rio Tinto Company Limited head office: Plantation House, Fenchurch Street, City of London (1947);
Rio Tinto plc head office: 2 Eastbourne Terrace, Westminster (2011).