Mining giant Rio Tinto said Friday said it had broken off a politically unpopular $19.5 billion deal with the Chinese government-owned Chinalco. Xiong Weiping, president of Chinalco, the state-owned Aluminum Corp.

Aluminum Corp. of China said it planned to raise capital in the next two years and diversify overseas after reporting a sharp drop in first-half profit.

Chinalco, the Chinese aluminum giant that led a $14 billion investment in Rio Tinto, is more likely to raise its stake than reduce it, its president said Tuesday. "I feel the price was very good," said the president, Xiao Yaqing. "It was a very appropriate price.

By Dale Crofts Bloomberg News Rio Tinto Group Chief Executive Officer Tom Albanese has said he doesn't know why Alcoa Inc. invested $1.2 billion in a venture to buy 9 percent of Rio after the two companies failed to hold talks on the deal. Aluminum Corp.

By Tom Miles The Chinese aluminum giant Chinalco and its U.S. partner, Alcoa, agreed to buy as much as 14.9 percent of Rio Tinto this month and had as much as $24 billion to spend, according to a memo. The memo, dated Jan.