Stmt re West Angelas mine

Rio Tinto PLC
27 August 2002



                       West Angelas mine formally opened





Robe River Iron Associates' US$450 million West Angelas mine (Rio Tinto 53 per
cent) was formally opened on 24 August 2002 at a ceremony attended by key
customers and project stakeholders.



Clive Latcham, managing director of Robe River Mining Company, said, 'The
opening of West Angelas is an important milestone in Robe's development. It
completes the transformation of Robe from a single mine, single product
operation into a competitive and reliable supplier of multiple products for a
diverse range of international customers.'



'West Angelas is the Pilbara's newest iron ore mine. It contains an estimated
440 million tonnes of marra mamba reserves, regarded as the next generation of
Australian iron ore. This will be the first marra mamba ore to be marketed as a
stand-alone product.



'We have completed the mine on time and on budget, and with an excellent
construction safety record. I congratulate everyone involved in achieving this
result.'



The West Angelas operation comprises an open pit mine, ore processing plant
producing lump and fines ore, stockpiles, reclaimers and train loading
facilities. It is located 110 kilometres west of Newman in the East Pilbara
region of Western Australia.  From the mine, ore is railed 330 kilometres to
Robe's port facilities at Cape Lambert, where it is stockpiled before loading
onto vessels.



Capacity at Cape Lambert has been expanded to 50 million tonnes per annum to
handle the West Angelas products, through a wharf extension and the addition of
a second ship-loader. Operational flexibility has also been boosted as the
ship-loaders can be configured to load either one or two vessels simultaneously.



Consultation with local Aboriginal communities during the project's development
phase resulted in five Native Title agreements being signed. Under these
agreements, Robe has committed to deliver benefits to local communities
including employment, education and training opportunities and financial
payments.



Ore production at West Angelas began in April 2002. Trial shipments were made to
selected customers in May, and commercial shipments began in July. The mine will
produce at an initial rate of seven million tonnes per annum, rising to
approximately 20 million tonnes per annum by 2006, in line with customer demand.
The current permanent workforce is 110 people.





For further information, please contact:


LONDON                                                  AUSTRALIA
Media Relations                                         Media Relations
Hugh Leggatt                                            Ian Head
+ 44 (0) 20 7753 2273                                   [phone]
Investor Relations                                      Investor Relations
Peter Cunningham                                        Dave Skinner
+ 44 (0) 20 7753 2401                                   [phone]
Richard Brimelow                                        Daphne Morros
+ 44 (0) 20 7753 2326                                   [phone]



Website: www.riotinto.com





NOTES:



•        Robe River Iron Associates is a joint venture between Rio Tinto (53 per
cent), Mitsui 33 per cent, Nippon Steel Australia (10.5 per cent) and Sumitomo
Metal Australia Pty Ltd (3.5 per cent).


•        Robe is Australia's third largest iron ore exporter, and the world's
fourth largest supplier of seaborne traded iron ore.



•        West Angelas ore is transported to Cape Lambert by the Pilbara Rail
Company, an unincorporated joint venture between Robe River and Rio Tinto which
operates and maintains all rail assets of Robe River and Hamersley Iron.



•        In March 1998 the Robe joint venture participants agreed to develop
the West Angelas ore deposits, by means of a new mine and processing plant,
together with the construction of a new railway and expanded port facilities at
Cape Lambert.



•        In mid 2001, the Robe River participants and Rio Tinto reached
agreement to share rail infrastructure with Hamersley Iron (a wholly owned
subsidiary of Rio Tinto).



•        This agreement enabled the West Angelas development to use Hamersley
Iron's existing rail infrastructure and resulted in capital expenditure savings
of approximately A$220 million.



•        A 62 kilometre rail spur now connects West Angelas to the main rail
line of Hamersley Iron. The rail networks of Hamersley Iron and Robe River were
connected where the two lines previously crossed, as part of the revised West
Angelas development plan. This connection enables uninterrupted railing of ore
from the mine to the Cape Lambert facilities.














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