Rio Tinto Staff Face Spy Charges in China

By Joe McDonald and Rohan Sullivan

BEIJING -- Four employees of Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto (RTP Quote) have been arrested on charges of stealing state secrets, a government news agency reported Thursday.

The Xinhua News Agency report, China's first public confirmation of the case, gave no details of the charges against the employees of Rio's Shanghai office. Australia's government says one of the detainees is Australian and it is pressing for access to him.

The weekend detentions came amid contentious iron ore price talks between Rio and Chinese steel mills. But there has been no indication whether the case is linked to the negotiations. ...