Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto said Monday it was strongly placed to weather a Chinese economic growth slowdown after Beijing forecast expansion would slow sharply in 2012.
Sam Walsh, chief executive of the world's second-largest iron ore miner, downplayed investor worries that Rio Tinto may be facing a market oversupplied with iron ore.
"Our low-cost operations combined with our proximate distance from China and the Asian market gives us a significant advantage (compared to other miners)," Walsh told reporters in New Delhi.
China, whose fast-growing economy has been a huge iron ore consumer, earlier on Monday slashed its growth target for 21012 to 7.5 percent from 9.2 percent in 2011 and 10.4 percent in 2010.
It would mark the third straight year of slowing growth for China as the world's number two economy is buffeted by ongoing troubles in the West and high oil prices.
Walsh was speaking after attending a meeting of Australian and Indian business leaders in New Delhi to discuss ways to liberalise trade between the two countries.
The global mining company was trading down 2.57 percent at 3,468.50 pence on the London Stock Exchange on the back of the fall in China's growth estimate.
Rio Tinto has been ramping up its iron ore output in Western Australia even as metals analysts have been warning that the globe could face an oversupply of iron ore with many major producers planning to increase production.
