Rio Tinto has issued a statement according to which it has been advised that the Chinese authorities have announced the grounds for the arrest of the four Rio Tinto Shanghai employees detained in China.



The mining giant noted that while no formal charges have been made, an arrest warrant has been issued enabling the authorities to continue to detain the employees pending further investigations.



Rio Tinto noted that it understands that the grounds of arrest for further detention relate to the following areas: Allegations of obtaining Chinese steel industry commercial secrets in breach of the provisions of Article 219 of the Chinese Criminal Law pertaining to the crime of violating commercial secrets; allegations of commercial bribery in breach of the provisions of Article 163 of the Chinese Criminal Law pertaining to receipt of bribes by non-State personnel.



Sam Walsh, Iron Ore CEO, said, “Rio Tinto will strongly support its employees in defending these allegations. From all the information available to us, we continue to believe that our employees have acted properly and ethically in their business dealings in China.”



He added: “The issue of the arrest warrant is of great concern. We respect the Chinese legal system and we hope to see a transparent process for our employees, including access to legal representation.”



The giant miner Rio Tinto’s senior managers have reportedly contacted the families of the four detained employees and will continue to provide support to ensure their welfare.



Rio Tinto also stated that the mining company is working to resolve this matter and continues its business operations in China, including the maintenance of high levels of iron ore shipments from Australia.