LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Rio Tinto PLC's (RTP) move to drop a joint marketing agreement from a proposed iron ore joint venture with BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) will "simplify" the regulatory process, a spokeswoman said Friday.
Rio and BHP had planned to jointly market up to 15% of the combined production from their Pilbara iron ore operations but earlier this month dropped that component of the agreement.
Final terms of the joint venture are under negotiation between the companies. It then has to win approval from regulators in Europe and elsewhere.
Company Web site: http://www.riotinto.com
-By Jeffrey Sparshott, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)207 842 9347; jeffrey.sparshott@dowjones.com