RIO Rio Tinto Plc

   By Rhiannon Hoyle 
 

SYDNEY--Mining company Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) has signed a global outsourcing deal for back-office functions with U.S. technology firm International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), a person familiar with the matter said.

The contracts with IBM--which could run for as long as 10 years and be worth up to US$100 million--include roles in finance and information technology, the person said.

Volatile commodity prices and uncertainty over demand in key markets like China have forced mining companies to put the brakes on aggressive spending plans and refocus on cost-cutting over the past year.

In an effort to bolster its balance sheet and cut debt, Rio Tinto has set out to strip more than US$5 billion in costs from the business by the end of 2014, and has held talks to sell smaller or underperforming businesses.

Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com

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