Rio vs. Gutnick, page-6

I worked for Rio for 9 years and this is my opinion. One of the reasons I see was that the resource (as they saw it at the time) was not big enough for their portfolio. Rio is a massive company, one of the biggest fishes in the pond so to speak. Revenue last year 40 bIllIon US wIth 50 000 employees A 300 million dollar project (cumulatIve free cash flow over 10 years) did not sit well with them as a company. With all due respect to MED, it is just too small. They probably recognised that a company of their size was not the right fit for MED. Diamonds also were not something that management at the time were keen on expanding into. Again, I cannot speak for the board and management of Rio at the time, thIs is my opinion.