Arab Roots Group Limited Company signed a long-term agreement with Atlas Copco, under which Arab Roots appointed as the sole distributor for its products and services in Syria.

Atlas Copco Group has been selected by Rio Tinto to develop one of two rapid tunneling concepts for underground block cave projects. The new machine will enable fast and cost-effective construction of mines which are safe, productive and have a minimal impact on the environment. Rio Tinto's development of projects such as Resolution Copper in Arizona and Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia will use an underground block cave mining method. This method requires construction of significant underground infrastructure prior to the production of ore. In anticipation of this need, Rio Tinto Technology and Innovation began investigating alternative construction methods to further improve both safety and speed of constructing underground block cave infrastructure such as shafts and tunnels. The Atlas Copco Modular Mining Machine (MMM) is a new tunneling machine that utilizes the learnings of the Atlas Copco Robbins Mobile Miner. This mechanical rock excavation system is anticipated to be able to achieve more than twice the performance of normal tunneling methods in the expected ground conditions. The cooperation between Rio Tinto and Atlas Copco on the development of this machine has been underway for some time and is approaching reality. The Rio Tinto and Atlas Copco team have agreed to share further information on this mining breakthrough with the mining community at the upcoming SME conference in Phoenix Arizona, March 1-3, 2010.

Rio Tinto plc is expanding its Mine of the Future programme to develop new equipment and systems for deep underground mines and has selected three partners to work on the project. Aker Wirth and Atlas Copco will individually work with Rio Tinto to develop two new tunneling concepts and Herrenknecht will work with the Group on the development of a new shaft boring machine. Projects such as Resolution Copper in Arizona and Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia will use an underground block cave mining method. This method requires construction of significant underground infrastructure prior to ore production. In anticipation of this need, Rio Tinto Technology and Innovation has been engaged in a long-running development programme to improve significantly both the safety and speed of constructing underground infrastructure such as shafts and tunnels. The two new tunneling concepts from Atlas Copco and Aker Wirth will enable fast and cost effective tunnel creation. The shaft boring machinery being developed by Herrenknecht will combine rock excavation, rock transport and structural support - currently three separate processes - into a single system. All three new concepts are a result of civil tunneling industry technologies combined with input from Rio Tinto mining experts and contractor partners Redpath and Cementation.