Rio Tinto Limited (ASX:RIO, LON:RIO) will exit one of the world’s biggest copper deposits by gifting its minority interest in Canadian company Northern Dynasty to two local Alaskan charities.
Northern Dynasty is the developer of the Alaskan Pebble copper and gold project which has faced pressure from environmental groups concerning its impact to salmon fisheries.
Rio Tinto’s decision to gift its 19.1 per cent stake comes after the dual-listed global miner launched a review which concluded the asset does not fit with its strategy.
Anglo American also decided to exit the project last year by giving its 50 per cent interest to Northern Dynasty and suffering a write-down of about $300 million.
Rio Tinto says it has long and historic ties to Alaska and continues to see Alaska as an attractive location for potential future investment.
Rio Tinto swung from an annual loss to a profit of $1.2 billion in the 2013 calendar year.
