China tells Oz that it has sufficient evidence against Rio Tinto staff

August 12th, 2009 BEIJING - Chinese prosecutors have charged Australian executive Stern Hu with commercial bribery, which means he could be facing up to seven years jail if found guilty by Beijing. China's official news agency Xinhua said Hu and three Rio Tinto Chinese colleagues were charged late on Tuesday, six days after being detained in Shanghai.

August 11th, 2009 Rio Tinto 'still unaware' of China case evidenceSYDNEY — Rio Tinto Ltd. said Tuesday it was still unaware of any evidence to justify China's detention of four employees on spying allegations, as the Australian government urged Beijing to speed up the case.

August 10th, 2009 Rio Tinto prices plunge on China spy claimsSYDNEY —Rio Tinto Ltd.'s share price plunged more than 3 percent Monday after China accused the Anglo-Australian miner of conducting a six-year spying campaign that it claimed cost Chinese steelmakers billions of dollars in inflated prices for iron ore. Rio Tinto declined to respond to the latest allegations but said in July that bribery allegations against four Rio Tinto employees detained in China were baseless.

August 10th, 2009 SHANGHAI - Relations between China and Australia are likely to take a turn for the worse with authorities in Beijing accusing the British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto of engaging in commercial espionage that cost China about 100 billion dollars. The sensational allegation was published on Sunday on a website affiliated with China's State Secrets Bureau, which has detained four Rio Tinto employees - three Chinese citizens and one Australian - in Shanghai last month on suspicions of stealing confidential documents from the country's huge, government-controlled steel industry.

July 22nd, 2009 China says 'ample evidence' against Rio employeesBEIJING — China has told Australia it has "ample evidence" a detained Australian manager for miner Rio Tinto Ltd. and three co-workers stole state secrets, a Chinese diplomat said Wednesday.

July 17th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has said that the allegations that some of its employees in China have been engaged in bribery are "wholly without foundation". Chinese authorities claim four employees of the world's third-biggest miner bribed Chinese steel mills officials during annual iron ore contract price negotiations.

July 15th, 2009 BEIJING - The staff of Australian miner Rio Tinto bribed executives from all 16 Chinese steel mills participating in this year's iron ore price talks, an industry insider has disclosed. "Rio Tinto got to know the key executives of the 16 steel mills, who have sensitive industry information, when the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) brought them to the bargaining table," China Daily quoted a senior manager at a large steel company, as saying.

July 12th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Australia's Financial Services Minister Chris Bowen has warned that the country's business people may not want to work in China in the wake of Australian origin Rio Tinto executive Stern Hu being arrested in the country on espionage charges. "The Chinese Government will be very aware that it is not good for business certainty if there's a regular pattern of foreign business people being incarcerated," news.co.au quoted Brown, as saying.

July 11th, 2009 SYDNEY - Resources giant Rio Tinto Ltd Saturday welcomed news that its Shanghai-based executive Stern Hu was in good health after almost a week in detention over spying allegations. "Rio Tinto continues to work to support its four China employees and their families and colleagues," the dual Sydney-London-listed company said in a statement about Hu, an Australian, and three Chinese employees.

July 11th, 2009 MELBOURNE - The Australian Government's open support to the Shanghai-based Australian general manager of iron ore mining company, Hu Stern, who has been arrested on espionage charges in China, is set to put the Kevin Rudd government in the worst foreign policy crisis since taking office in November 2007. "Frankly, it is difficult for a nation like Australia to see a relationship between espionage and national security and what appeared to be suggestions about commercial or economic negotiations," Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said in the wake of Australian consular officials gaining access to Hu for the first time since his arrest last Sunday.

July 10th, 2009 MELBOURNE - The Chinese Government has arrested the Shanghai-based general manager of multinational mining and resources, Rio Tinto, on charges of bribing staff of Chinese steel companies during iron ore negotiations this year. Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith disclosed that Stern Hu is being detained on suspicion of spying and stealing state secrets in China.

July 10th, 2009 SYDNEY - Australian diplomats Friday met the Rio Tinto executive held by Chinese authorities since Sunday over spying allegations. Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith would not comment on reports in the Chinese media that Australian citizen Stern Hu stood accused of trying to bribe employees of Chinese steel companies to gather confidential information during iron ore price negotiations.

July 9th, 2009 SHANGHAI - Four employees of the international mining group Rio Tinto Ltd. have been detained on charges of stealing China's state secrets, authorities said Thursday.

July 8th, 2009 4 Rio Tinto workers detained in ChinaBEIJING — Four employees of Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto Ltd., including an Australian man, have been detained in Shanghai for undisclosed reasons, the company and government officials said Wednesday. Rio Tinto has been unable to contact the employees, said Ian Head, a company spokesman in Sydney.

June 15th, 2009 China says Australia ties OK despite Rio-BHP dealBEIJING — Miner Rio Tinto Group PLC's decision to opt for a tie-up with rival BHP Billiton Ltd. instead of a $19.5 billion deal with Aluminum Corp.