Rio Tinto speeds up expansion plans

Rio Tinto will speed up its $14.8 billion (£9.1bn) iron ore expansion project in Australia by six months, joining other miners in hurrying production to fill a supply gap for the steel-making commodity.

Big miners are betting China's demand for raw materials to fuel industrial expansion will continue to surge, despite mounting fears of slowing economic growth as Beijing clamps down on bank lending.

Rio expects to expand its iron ore production by 50 per cent to 333 million tonnes a year by the first half of 2015, six months ahead of its earlier target.