It is reported that while visiting shareholders in the US, Mr Tom Albanese CEO of Rio Tinto has stepped up his rhetoric against BHP Billiton's unsolicited takeover bid and labeling it "dead in the water."

Mr Albanese told Dow Jones Newswires and CNB that "There's clear recognition from Rio Tinto shareholders that what we rejected was rejected on the basis of value. It came up well short. There just wasn’t enough value, so it is dead in the water”

He said that "We believe that running the business and running it independently delivers far more value for shareholders than the BHP proposal. That is why we rejected the BHP proposal and that's why the BHP proposal is dead in the water."

However, he did not say that whether or not he has had talks with BHP management since the bid was made public or what price might be acceptable to the Rio Tinto board. Rio Tinto has previously said that it refused to enter into talks with rival BHP after the unsolicited bid and dramatically stepped up it talk on future growth prospects.

Mr Albanese also said Rio had been approached with offers from other suitors since BHP tabled its plans last month, but was sticking with its independent growth strategy.