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Gold/Mining/Energy : Gold and Silver Juniors, Mid-tiers and Producers -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LoneClone who wrote (23728)	10/27/2006 4:21:28 PM
From: LoneClone	Respond to of 78418

Hey Rio Tinto, save some of that money to pay high prices for the juniors and intermediates we own! [Orig. posted by sageyrain] smh.com.au. Cashed up Rio lifts buyback to $US7b Barry FitzGerald October 28, 2006 RIO TINTO has surprised the market by going earlier and bigger with a share buyback designed to soak up the flood of cash created by booming commodity prices. The dual-listed resources giant announced at the close of local trade that it was increasing its share buyback plans by $US3 billion ($3.93 billion) to $US7 billion - all of which will be spent between now and the end of 2007. The announcement was made on Friday night, ahead of a planned briefing of analysts by Rio's London-based managing director, Leigh Clifford. Ahead of the announcement, the market had been expecting Rio to add $US1.5-$US2 billion to the buyback program, with a statement at the release of the group's full year results earlier in the new year. Analysts said the timing of the additional $US3 billion buyback could reflect Rio's concerns that some might think its traditional capital discipline had given way to a bout of entrepreneurial exuberance, given its recent decision to plunge up to $US1.5 billion into Mongolian copper hopeful Ivanhoe Mines. But Rio's finance director, Guy Elliott, said the decision to go early and extend the scope of the group's capital management program was a response to "today's favourable markets". "The group's high quality assets are generating record cash flows. This allows us to make substantial investments in the growth of the business and to return cash to shareholders," Mr Elliott said. Rio shares closed the week $2.01 lower at $77.34 in response to some commodity price weakness after the recent rise in prices. Ahead of the new buyback commitment, Rio had already earmarked $US4 billion in buybacks to soak up excess cash. The company returned $US1.5 billion to shareholders in April in the form of a special dividend. Of the remaining $US2.5 billion, $US1.9 billion had gone towards the buyback of London-listed Rio Tinto plc shares, leaving $US600 million to be completed. Rio signalled its intention to crank up its capital management program in August when announcing its record June-half profit of $US3.79 billion - up a better-than-expected 75 per cent from $US2.16 billion previously. More is to come, with prices for copper and iron ore sharply higher in the current half and Rio starting to reap the benefits of a heavy capacity investment program designed to capture its full share of the increase in demand for minerals.