China detains four mining employees

HONG KONG, July 8 (UPI) -- Rio Tinto, the world's second largest mining company, says Chinese authorities in Shanghai have detained four employees.

The firm, along with the Australian government, is looking into the reason for the detentions, CNN reported Wednesday.

One of the Rio Tinto employees arrested by the Chinese holds an Australian passport, the Australian government says.

Last month Rio Tinto backed out of a $19.2 billion investment deal with China's state-owned Chinalco.

At the time, the deal with Chinalco was awaiting a review by Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board.

Opponents of the move felt it put Australian resources at a strategic risk while backers saw it as an alliance that would help resource-rich Australia, says CNN.