Rio Tinto Ltd. (RTP) Iron Ore Chief Executive Sam Walsh said Monday that a potential iron ore joint venture with BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) in the Pilbara region of Western Australia is still a live issue.

The joint venture, 16 months in the making, would be responsible for one third of global iron ore exports if it receives regulatory approvals from Japan, South Korea, the European Union, Australia, Germany and Taiwan. However, industry participants increasingly expect the deal to lapse by the end of the year as both companies focus on more promising prospects elsewhere.

Asked whether he thought the project could still continue in the face of regulatory amendments, Walsh said: "It doesn't mean it's impossible. It doesn't mean it's easy. What we have got to assess is the value of the deal against the dislocation or whatever of any potential comments from the regulators."

The joint venture is "still a live issue... It's a huge prize here--US$10 billion-odd in synergies. You don't walk away until you have actually given it the very best go," Walsh told Dow Jones Newswires at a conference in Brisbane.

Last week, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported that Rio Tinto was preparing to walk away from the joint venture after regulatory obstacles emerged that could stand in the way of the pair receiving clearance.

The leak from a Rio Tinto board meeting to the newspaper on the future of the 310 million ton a year iron ore joint venture seems to be part of an attempt to influence the outcome of the deal, Walsh said Monday.

Walsh, one of four executive directors on Rio Tinto's 14-member board, said that it was still unclear how direct quotes from the meeting were leaked.

"None of that's clear, in terms of what exactly happened," he said. "I think people are trying to influence the outcome" of the deal.

He said he didn't know who could have been responsible for the leak.

-By David Fickling, Dow Jones Newswires; +61 2 8272 4689; david.fickling@dowjones.com
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