Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco) confirmed Thursday it had bought US$1.5 billion of Rio Tinto shares to cement its 9 percent shareholding in the miner.

Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco) confirmed Thursday it had bought US$1.5 billion of Rio Tinto shares to cement its 9 percent shareholding in the miner.

The deal was made to maximize the interests of Chinalco, Lu Youqing, Chinalco's vice president, told Xinhua.

If Chinalco did not made the deal, its shareholding in the miner would decrease from 9.3 percent to about 6 percent.

The deal came after Chinalco's US$19.5 billion bid failed last month to raise its stake in Rio Tinto.

(Xinhua News Agency July 2, 2009)