Mining major Rio Tinto (LON:RIO, NYSE:RTP, ASX:RIO) said it is turning the investment taps on as it posted record interim results.
A rebound in metals prices and voracious demand from China saw underlying profits pushed to US$5.8 billion, up from US$2.6 billion a year earlier.
Chief executive Tom Albanese said: "We expect second half capital expenditure to rebound significantly."
The company’s biggest revenue generator with sales of US$12.6 billion as customers were switched to quarterly contracts rather than annual deals.
Rio re-instated the dividend at 45 cents a share. Net debt, meanwhile, has tumbled to US$12 billion from US$39 billion as divestments totalled US$3.6 billion in the period.
"We have reaped the benefits of the cost-reduction efforts implemented in 2009 and have been pushing our production hard to benefit from a strong pricing environment,” Albanese added.