West Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart has asked Rio Tinto Limited’s (ASX:RIO, LON:RIO) new chief to move the company’s headquarters to Perth from London.
Rio Tinto flagged $US14 billion of write downs and announced its iron ore chief Sam Walsh would replace outgoing CEO Tom Albanese at the end of last week.
Ms Rinehart says she is disappointed Mr Albanese has been replaced and has urged Mr Walsh to move Rio Tinto’s headquarters to Australia and reinvest more of the company’s profits into Australia.
Ms Rinehart is the Chairman of Hancock Prospecting, a co-owner of the Hope Downs iron ore joint venture with Rio Tinto in Western Australia.
Shares in Rio Tinto gained 2.7 per cent to close at $66.35 at the end of last week.
Rio Tinto reported a net profit of almost $6 billion in the first half of the 2012 financial year.
