RIO Rio Tinto Plc

   By Rhiannon Hoyle 
 

SYDNEY--Rio Tinto PLC (RIO.LN) is contacting authorities in the U.K., U.S. and Australia over emails linked to payments worth US$10.5 million to a consultant on the Simandou project in Guinea, and said one executive has stepped down while another has been suspended.

The Anglo-Australian mining company said it "became aware" on Aug. 29 of email correspondence from 2011 that it said relates "to contractual payments totalling US$10.5 million made to a consultant providing advisory services" on Simandou, a large undeveloped iron-ore deposit.

Rio Tinto said it started an investigation using external counsel.

"Rio Tinto has today notified the relevant authorities in the U.K. and U.S. and is in the process of contacting the Australian authorities," the miner said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

It said energy and minerals chief executive Alan Davies, who was responsible for the Simandou project at the time, has been suspended. Legal and regulatory affairs group executive Debra Valentine has stepped down. She had previously told the company she intended to leave Rio Tinto in May, 2017, it said.

"Rio Tinto intends to cooperate fully with any subsequent inquiries from all of the relevant authorities," the company said. It said it wouldn't comment further.

Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 08, 2016 17:39 ET (22:39 GMT)

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