Rio Tinto CEO Sam Walsh.

(IDEX Online News) – The possible sale of Rio Tinto Diamonds' assets has taken a new turn, with Rio Tinto CEO, Sam Walsh, playing down the chances of it being sold if offers do not reach its valuation.

 

In his first interview since taking over at the mining giant at the start of this year, Walsh said Rio would not be forced into selling off its diamond business, or any other underperforming assets. Instead, he aims to focus on reducing costs across the company.

 

"This is not market day at the bazaar. I'd be quite happy to keep it [the diamond subsidiary]," Walsh told Britain's Telegraph newspaper.

 

The diamond business is estimated by industry analysts to have a value of at least $2 billion.

 

The company carried out an internal review of its operations, particularly its non-core businesses, last year.

 

Canada's Dominion Diamond was considered by industry analysts to be most likely to buy Rio Tinto Diamonds, which includes a 60 percent stake in the Diavik diamond mine in Canada's Northwest Territories. Dominion already owns the other 40 percent.

 

However, Rio Tinto is believed to want to sell its diamond operations in a single package and not individually, while Dominion CEO Robert Gannicott recently said the firm would only be interested in operations in Canada. Click here to read the article.