Rio and Sinosteel Corporation agreed to extend the 60:40 Channar Mining joint venture for the third time.

The third extension of the 30-year partnership will see an additional 10 million tonnes of iron ore delivered to the JV to take total production over the duration of the deal to 290Mt.

Sinosteel will make an upfront payment of US$15 million to Rio, as well as pay production royalties linked to the iron ore price.

Also on Friday, Rio and Minmetals signed a technical collaboration agreement, formalising a heads of agreement on exploration signed in June.

The two companies will work together to pursue exploration opportunities inside and outside China.

In what was a busy day for Jacques, he also witnessed the signing of an extension of the Tsinghua-Rio Tinto Joint Research Centre for Resources, Energy and Sustainable Development at Tsinghua University.

Rio and Tsinghua established the Joint Research Centre in 2012 to bring together leading experts from China and around the world to study, generate and share ideas and best practice for sustainable development.

“Continuation of the Tsinghua-Rio Tinto Centre further demonstrates our commitment to developing a long-term strategic partnership with China,” Jacques said.

"At Rio Tinto, we strive to add value to the communities in which we operate. As China is attaching increasing importance to the quality of development in the New Era, the research projects conducted by the Tsinghua-Rio Tinto Centre will become even more relevant to China’s long-term strategic goals.”