Rio Tinto Ltd. (RTP) shareholders and the Australian government are likely to approve the proposed $19.5 billion investment in the company by Aluminum Corp. of China, or Chinalco, the China Daily reported Friday, citing Rio Tinto Chief Executive Tom Albanese.

"I am quite confident that all of the pieces will progressively work through over the coming months. We will of course have regulator approval, and we will have shareholder approval as well," the paper quoted Albanese as saying.

The paper also cited Albanese as saying that the deal wouldn't affect the ongoing negotiations between Chinese steel mills and iron ore suppliers, including Rio Tinto, for setting annual iron ore prices.

-By Aaron Back, Dow Jones Newswires; (8610) 6588-5848; aaron.back@dowjones.com