Chantal Petitclerc receives send-off to Beijing from Rio Tinto Alcan employees

    MONTREAL, Aug. 20 /EMWNews/ - Rio Tinto Alcan employees presented

Chantal Petitclerc with their best wishes and a special good luck charm at

a ceremony marking her departure for the upcoming Beijing 2008 Paralympic

Games.



    "Over our 10 year partnership, Chantal has been a great source of

motivation for Rio Tinto Alcan. She has met thousands of employees during

plant tours in Quebec, Europe, Australia and the United States, encouraging

them to pursue their dreams," said Dick Evans, Chief Executive. "We wish to

thank Chantal for her inspiration and wish her good luck in Beijing."



    Mr. Evans also presented Ms. Petitclerc with a lucky charm pendant,

featuring a medallion designed by Gordon Norfolk, a Rio Tinto Alcan

employee in Australia, as well as a message book with inscriptions from

employees at Maison Alcan.



    Going into her fifth appearance at this event, Ms. Petitclerc has

already won 16 Paralympic medals - nine of them gold - and one more spot on

the podium would give her the most medals in Paralympic sports history.



    As part of her highly successful athletic career, Ms. Petitclerc also

holds several world records and is the only Canadian athlete to have won

medals at the Paralympic, Olympic, and Commonwealth Games. In 2004, she was

awarded the Laureus Prize as Paralympic Athlete of the Year and named

Sports Canada Female Athlete of the Year.



    In China, she will be competing in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, and

1500m racing events. The 2008 Paralympic games run from September 6 to 17.

    About Rio Tinto



    Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the

UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio

Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.



    Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral

resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and

uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc)

and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in

Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America,

Asia, Europe and southern Africa.