Rio Tinto Diamonds & Minerals chief executive Alan Davies said, "The medium- to long-term market fundamentals for diamonds remain robust, fuelled by growing demand for luxury goods in Asia and continuing strong demand in North America.
"We have valuable, high-quality diamonds businesses that are well positioned to capitalise on the positive market outlook.
"After considering a number of alternative strategic ownership options it is clear the best path to generate maximum value for our shareholders is to retain these businesses."
