"Bechtel is honored to be selected for this project," said AndyGreig, president of Bechtel Mining & Metals. "This is an excitingopportunity for us and we look forward to being a part of RioTinto plans for the future."

"Rio Tinto Alcan is pleased to announce the signing of thiscontract, one more critical step towards the realization of theKitimat project. Bechtel brings together a unique combination ofexpertise, world-wide presence, and project experience," saidJacynthe Côté, president and chief executive officer, PrimaryMetal, Rio Tinto Alcan.

The proposed $2.5 billion Kitimat Modernization Project wouldincrease production capacity at the smelter by 40 percent, takingit up to 400,000 tons per year and increase Rio Tinto annualglobal primary aluminum production capacity by more than 3percent. This will make Kitimat not only one of Rio Tinto largestwholly owned smelters, but also one of the three largest in NorthAmerica. Kitimat's aluminum production capacity will increase by125,000 tons using clean and renewable hydroelectric power fromthe Kemano power station and also reduce greenhouse gas emissionsby more than 40 percent per year. First metal from the modernizedsmelter is expected in 2011.

About Bechtel

Bechtel is one of the world's premier engineering, construction,and project management companies. Since its founding in 1898,Bechtel has worked on more than 22,000 projects in 140 countries.Today, our 42,500 employees are teamed with customers, partners,and suppliers on hundreds of projects in nearly 50 countries.For more information about Bechtel visit www.bechtel.com.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquarteredin the United Kingdom, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London listedcompany, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the AustralianSecurities Exchange. Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, andprocessing mineral resources. Major products are aluminum,copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrialminerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore.Activities span the world but are strongly represented inAustralia and North America with significant businesses in SouthAmerica, Asia, Europe and southern Africa. For more informationabout Rio Tinto visit www.riotinto.com.