Aluminum Corp. of China, or Chinalco, said Friday it is very disappointed Rio Tinto Ltd. (RP) has decided to terminate their planned US$19.5 billion alliance and will keep a watch on the miner's fresh plans for an iron ore joint venture with BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU.

Chinalco Chairman Xiong Weiping said the Chinese group had worked hard to engage with Rio on potential changes to the deal terms to reflect the changed market conditions and feedback from shareholders and regulators.

"As a result, we are very disappointed with this outcome," he said in a statement.

"We continue to believe our proposal presented an outstanding value-creating opportunity for all Rio Tinto shareholders and would have provided a strong platform for a long-term strategic partnership between the two companies."

Chinalco will monitor developments at Rio Tinto as the company's current largest shareholder and will monitor plans Rio has now announced for an iron ore joint venture in the Pilbara regions of Western Australia.

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