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| New venture |
Calcutta, Dec. 12: Public sector Nalco has joined hands with Rio Tinto Alcan to explore opportunities in India and abroad.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between the two companies yesterday at Bhubaneswar, the headquarters of Nalco.
C.R. Pradhan, chairman and managing director of Nalco, told The Telegraph that Rio Tinto and Nalco would offer each other new projects.
“We may invite them to participate in our new projects in India. Likewise, they may offer us some new projects, globally,” Pradhan said.
A joint working committee has been set up to identify opportunities.
Rio is already a technology partner of Nalco in some projects.
The development comes close on the heels of Rio Tinto signing an agreement with the the country’s largest iron ore miner NMDC.
Nick Senapati, managing director of Rio Tinto India, said they were excited to work with Nalco, which has recently been awarded Navaratna status.
“The memorandum of understanding with NMDC covers all minerals. With Nalco, we will obviously focus on aluminum because it is big in it,” he said.
Rio Tinto also plans to work with the Orissa Mining Corporation to develop a large iron ore mine.
Rio Tinto Alcan is a global supplier of bauxite, alumina and primary aluminium.