Chinalco, Rio sign up to Guinea venture

Project to tap into world's biggest undeveloped iron ore deposit

BEIJING - Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco), the nation's largest aluminum producer, agreed to set up a joint venture with Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto to develop the Simandou iron ore project in West African nation of Guinea.

Chinalco, the top shareholder in Rio with a 9.3 percent stake in the mining group, signed a non-binding accord to pay $1.35 billion for a 44.65 percent stake in the project, according to a statement issued by Chinalco on Friday.