Rio Tinto Mails Offer for Units of the Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Income Fund

Business Wire, March 9, 2001

Business Editors

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 9, 2001

Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) dispatched its Bid Circular yesterday to unitholders of the Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Income Fund (the "Fund"). Rio Tinto is making a cash offer of C$13.50 per unit for all of the issued and outstanding units of the Fund. The Offer values the Fund at C$405 million based on the 30 million units outstanding.

The Offer represents a premium of approximately:

- 17% to the Fund's closing price on the day the Offer was announced;

- 25% to the average price of the units over the twelve months prior to the
announcement of the Offer.

The Offer is due to close on March 30, 2001.

Rio Tinto is pleased that unitholders are now able to consider the Offer. It notes that the required valuation supervised by the Trustees of the Fund has concluded that the theoretical value of the units is between C$18.00 and C$24.70 per unit. In Rio Tinto's view the valuation, which values the units at C$6.50 - C$13.20 more than the pre-bid market price, is highly optimistic and is based on assumptions that are unrealistic.

While the theoretical value reportedly represents "...the highest price available in an open and unrestricted market between informed prudent parties...," unitholders will be aware that the units have never traded at such a price in the open market, and neither the valuer nor the Trustees provide any opinion as to the future trading price of the units or whether unitholders should ever expect to receive such a price. When considering the Rio Tinto Offer, unitholders should remember that there was a fully informed liquid market for the units prior to the Offer. In Rio Tinto's view, if the Offer is withdrawn, and in the absence of a better offer, it is reasonable to expect that the units would revert back to the pre-announcement trading range.

Rio Tinto has a 56.1 per cent interest in The Iron Ore Company of Canada ("IOC"), Canada's largest iron ore pellet producer.

The Fund is an unincorporated, limited purpose trust that, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Labrador Mining Company Limited, owns an 18.9 per cent equity interest in IOC. In addition, the Fund is entitled to a 7 per cent royalty on all sales of IOC and a commission fee of C$0.10 per tonne on all iron ore products sold by IOC.

The Bid Circular will be made available (in English and French) on Rio Tinto's website at: www.riotinto.com