Chinalco makes fresh overtures to Rio Tinto

Aluminum producer in talks with Anglo-Australian miner on projects

BEIJING - Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco), the nation's largest aluminum producer, is in talks with Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto Group on potential projects amid reports that they will jointly develop a $12 billion iron-ore project.

"We are in talks with Rio Tinto on potential projects, and we are talking with many partners on investment projects. Rio is one of them," said Lu Youqing, vice-president of Chinalco, the top shareholder in Rio with a 9.3 percent stake. However, he declined to specify the project.