Rio Tinto Workers Detained in China

BEIJING -- Four employees of Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto(RTP Quote), including an Australian man, have been detained in Shanghai for undisclosed reasons, the company and government officials said.

Rio Tinto has been unable to contact the employees, said Nick Cobban, a company spokesman in London. He said it has asked Chinese authorities the reason for the detention but has received no response.

Australian diplomats in Shanghai were urgently seeking access to the Australian man, the country's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement. It said it couldn't comment on reasons for the detention and didn't identify the man further.

The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper identified the Australian as Stern Hu and said the other three employees were Chinese nationals. It said the four were members of Rio Tinto's iron ore sales team. The paper cited no sources. ...