OREANDA-NEWS. Rio Tinto has appointed Andrew Harding as Iron Ore chief executive, replacing Sam Walsh who became Rio Tinto chief executive in January 2013. Andrew's successor as Copper chief executive is Jean-Sebastien Jacques, formerly Copper president, International Operations. He will join the Executive Committee. Both appointments take effect today.

Sam Walsh said "These two appointments strengthen our senior management team and are in line with our strategy of developing the next generation of talented Rio Tinto leaders.

"Andrew's experience across a range of Rio Tinto businesses and countries and his three years on the Executive Committee mean he is ideally placed to run the highest-earning business in the Group. He has done an excellent job leading the Copper product group including taking Oyu Tolgoi from the drawing board to an operational mine on the verge of commercial production. He began his Rio Tinto career in our Iron Ore business in the Pilbara when it was a smaller operation and now he is ready to take it to the next stage by expanding capacity by more than half in just over two years. 

"Jean-Sebastien has been with Rio Tinto for just over a year and has made a real impact and injected some fresh thinking into the Copper business. He has extensive experience in the steel and aluminium industries and has recently been leading work in Mongolia, as well as being responsible for mines and projects from Australia to South Africa. He will be an excellent addition to our executive team."

Andrew Harding will be based in Perth, Western Australia and Jean-Sebastien Jacques will remain based in London.