Coal & Allied wins Mexico coal contract

2 February 2006

Rio Tinto’s 75.7 per cent owned subsidiary, Coal & Allied Industries Limited, issued the following news release in Australia. All dollars are Australian currency.

Coal & Allied has won a tender to supply 4.29 million tonnes of thermal coal to the Mexican Federal Electricity Commission over the next 18 months.

The contract, for the supply of coal to the Petacalco power plant in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero, is expected to be signed tomorrow (Friday 3 February 2006).

Coal & Allied’s managing director, Dr Grant Thorne, said, “This deal represents diversification for Coal & Allied into Mexico - a healthy and robust new market for us. We are very pleased to have secured the tender in competition from a strong field of international suppliers.”

“Australian coal producers enjoy a freight advantage over China and Indonesia, our main competitors.”

Earlier this week, Coal & Allied announced a record net profit after tax for 2005 of A$290.1 million (compared with A$116.6 million in 2004). Coal & Allied’s total shipments in 2005 were 29 million tones of thermal and coking coal, with the majority going to Japan.