Rio Tinto is eliminating 14,000 jobs (8,500 contractor and 5,500 employees), cutting capital expenditures from $9 billion to $ billion, and deferring exploration and evaluation expenditures as part of a series of moves to reduce debt $10 billion by the end of 2009.
They also plan on selling or divesting significant assets, “including but not restricted to joint ventures,” Rio Tinto is the majority owner of the giant Resolution copper mine near Superior, in a JV with BHP Billiton.
The company said some projects will be cancelled and others deferred until markets recover. There was no specific news on the Resolution Copper project but they said further detail will be provided to the market in the first quarter of 2009.