Rio Tinto, a miner listed in London and Australia, cut its 71,000 employees five years ago to 51,000 last year Rio TintoLeading shareholders have forced Rio Tinto to backtrack on an offer for Sir Mick Davis to become the FTSE 100 group’s next chairman. It is understood that Sir Mick, who built Xstrata into one of the world’s largest mining companies, had been given the nod and introduced to the board of Rio Tinto, which mines everything from diamonds to uranium. Institutional shareholders representing about a fifth of Rio’s London-listed shares wrote to the board late last week outlining their concern about Sir Mick’s suitability for the job. The letter from The Investor Forum said that the ideal candidate would have a track record of disciplined capital allocation and experience in countries where Rio operates, and would be able to improve Rio’s culture after a fine…

Source: The Times November 28, 2017 00:00 UTC