Rio Tinto in No Rush to Sell Diamond Unit

Rio Tinto is in no rush to sell its diamond unit and will rather focus on cutting costs at other parts of its business, the company's chief executive Sam Walsh said. In his first interview since taking over leadership at Rio Tinto, Walsh told The Telegraph that he would be quite happy to keep the company's diamond unit.

Recent media reports indicated that following unsuccessful attempts to attain a compelling offer from an outside buyer, the company was looking to float its diamond division on the London Stock Exchange. The offering was speculated to take place as early as the third quarter this year as part of an effort at Rio Tinto to divest from its under performing and non-strategic assets.

Rio Tinto's diamond unit includes the Argyle mine in Western Australia famous for its rare pink diamonds, as well as a 78 percent stake in the Murowa mine in Zimbabwe and the Bunder diamond deposit in India. The company also owns a 60 percent stake in the Diavik mine in Canada, where Dominion Diamond Corporation owns the remaining 40 percent and was ‎reportedly interested in Rio Tinto’s stake.

Rio Tinto's diamond production fell 4 percent year on year to 3.24 million carats for the first quarter that ended on March 31.

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