North American Iron Ore Gross Profit Margin: The North American iron ore business saw margins of 31.6% in 2010.
Asia Pacific Iron Ore Gross Profit Margin: The Asia Pacific iron ore business had a healthy 50.4% margin in 2010.
Chief executive Tom Albanese stepped down by mutual agreement with the board, Rio Tinto said, and has been replaced by Sam Walsh, chief executive of the miner's iron ore business.
BBC: Rio Tinto boss Tom Albanese resigns over $14bn write-down
Iron ore is its mainstay, and the iron-ore business is all just-in-time logistics.
Mr Kloppers was worried about the Chinese government muscling in on the iron-ore business, since China's state-owned steelmakers are among his biggest customers.
One reason, argues Ian Maxwell of Schroder Salomon Smith Barney, an investment bank, is that only the biggest firms can afford to get over the high barriers to entry in the high-return, low-risk niches of the mining business: iron ore, alumina, diamonds and industrial minerals.
The company said it expects iron-ore production to almost double and that its steel business would improve as well.
Upstream producers such as Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), the world's largest producer of iron ore and pellets, are trying to get into the business of making quality steel.
Iron ore has always been the most important part of Vale's business, sucking up half of its capital spending.
Freight business includes transport of bulk mineral commodities, including iron ore, agricultural products, mining and industrial inputs and general freight throughout Queensland and Western Australia.
In the business of shipping dry-bulk cargoes, mostly iron ore, coal and grain, there is not even the hint of a silver lining to the cloud.
Analysts told the newspaper that Mr Mittal may wait and buy iron ore assets from Rio at a later date should regulators demand the miner sells part of its business to allow a merger with BHP to go ahead.
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