Rio Tinto names new chairman

Rio Tinto, the world''s third biggest mining group by market value, has announced that Jan du Plessis will be appointed as chairman of the boards replacing Paul Skinner. Du Plessis will remain chairman of British American Tobacco plc, a position he held since 2004, prior to his appointment at Rio. Earlier, chairman-elect Jim Leng left Rio''s board after rejecting a planned $19.5 billion deal with Chinese state-owned Chinalco will acquire stakes in Rio mines and increase its stake in the company to 18%. "Our priority now is to give Rio Tinto the best possible platform to develop shareholder value and to overcome the tough and uncertain global economic crises," Du Plessis said.Nike Sneakers