Rio Tinto chief executive gets the sack

An engineer who became the miner’s first American boss two decades ago, Mr Albanese will be replaced by Australian Sam Walsh who heads Rio’s operations in iron ore, where it is the world’s second largest producer.

Doug Ritchie, the former energy boss who led the acquisition of Mozambique-focused miner Riversdale, was also shown the door.

Mr Albanese had until now survived the consequences of his disastrous $38bn acquisition of Alcan in 2007. The deal, just two months after Albanese took the reins, turned bad as markets crumbled and aluminium prices slumped.

Further damaging his reputation as a dealmaker, Mr Albanese spearheaded a $4.2bn deal in 2011 to buy Mozambique-focused coal miner Riversdale.