Rio Tinto deeply committed to India: Official

Mining giant Rio Tinto today said it is deeply committed to India and it sees a lot of potential in the country.
Rio Tinto in February announced its exit from Rs 2,200-crore diamond mining project in Madhya Pradesh and handed over its ownership to the state government.
"As a company, we are deeply committed to India. We have been here in India for many years and we see a lot of potential," Rio Tinto India Managing Director S Vijay Iyer said, adding that "India is a key piece of our operating and technology and innovation."
He was speaking at Global Natural Resources Conclave here.

"We are also working with technology partners to take our mining data and work with it in different ways...So all this is happening in India. And as this is happening in other places as well," he added.
In August last year, Rio Tinto had announced that it would not proceed with the development of Bunder due to commercial considerations and would be seeking to close all project infrastructure.

Under a Madhya Pradesh government order signed in January 2017, the government would accept ownership and take on responsibility for the Bunder assets, it had said.
The inventory of assets and associated infrastructure which was handed over to the government comprised all land, plant, equipment and vehicles at the Bunder project site.

The inventory also included diamond samples recovered during exploration.
"Our exit from Bunder is the latest example of Rio Tinto streamlining its asset portfolio. It simplifies our business, allowing us to focus on our world-class assets," Rio Tinto Copper and Diamonds chief executive Arnaud Soirat had earlier said.