Rio Tinto Alcan hails the opening of the Pointe St. Charles Pathways to Education stay in school centre, in Southwest Montreal

MONTREAL, Feb. 14, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Rio Tinto Alcan welcomes the inauguration of the launch of the third Pathways to Education centre in Quebec. Located in the Pointe St. Charles borough in Southwest Montreal, this project is the result of months of preparation and will help bolster stay in school efforts for youth living in an area that has one of the highest dropout rates in the city.

"Pathways to Education is a proven program. Although it is too early to measure the concrete impacts from its Shawinigan centre, the statistics coming from the centre in Verdun demonstrates the immense potential of the program. Prior to its launch, the dropout rate in Verdun was nearly 42 per cent, it is now down to 8.8 per cent - an outstanding improvement." declared Rio Tinto Alcan Chief executive, Jacynthe Côté.

As well as its involvement in schools, Pathways to Education is also directly involved in its host communities, allowing the program to achieve unprecedented results. The centre in Pointe St. Charles offers youth bilingual services thanks to Pathways to Education's collaboration with the YMCAs of Quebec.

Pierre Côté, President, Pathways to Education Quebec emphasizes: "Pathways to Education welcomes the launch of this new program, made possible in part thanks to the exemplary commitment of Rio Tinto Alcan. This long-term partnership will help students from the community reach their full potential."

The implementation of this third Pathways to Education centre in Quebec represents an important milestone for Rio Tinto Alcan. This achievement is in line with goals set in 2010 when the Group announced its intention to make persistence in school a top priority through a $15 million investment over five years. A recent study by the Boston Consulting Group has demonstrated that the permanent cumulative benefit to society can be valued at $600,000 for each student enrolled in this program.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southern Africa.

SOURCE: RIO TINTO ALCAN - EN

Media relations
Rio Tinto Alcan
Bryan Tucker
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Media relations
Rio Tinto Alcan
Claudine Gagnon
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