Rio Tinto Ltd. (RTP) Chief Executive Tom Albanese said Friday he retains the confidence of the company's board following termination of the miner's planned US$19.5 billion alliance with Aluminum Corp. of China, or Chinalco.

Some analysts believe Albanese should step down after presiding over the top-of-the-cycle purchase of Alcan, refusing to engage with BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU) on its takeover offer and then promoting an unpopular tie up with Chinalco, which has now been scuttled.

However, Albanese defended his actions during what he said was a period of unprecedented volatility and said he still has the support of the board.

Albanese said he was personally disappointed that the Chinalco deal had failed and looked forward to future engagement with the Chinese group.

"I look forward to working with Chinalco in the future, finding opportunities for mutual engagement and mutual cooperation and seeing if we can create new forms of synergies in the future," he said.

-By Alex Wilson, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-3-9292-2094; alex.wilson@dowjones.com