There was no need to acquire Rio Tinto and, with or without the company, BHP Billiton would continue to show very strong performance into the future, BHP Billiton CEO Marius Kloppers assured on Tuesday, in the first public indication that the world's biggest diversified miner may be preparing for a future without rival Rio in its ranks.

At the same time, Kloppers emphasised that both he and the BHP Billiton board still believed that combining the two companies remained a logical and compelling proposition, given the volume demands of customers.

"Rio Tinto offers a unique and complementary asset portfolio and a close fit, both strategically and culturally, which will allow us to unlock value beyond what we've got in our portfolio on it own," Kloppers told analysts and media representatives in a briefing on the company's thriving steelmaking materials business unit that includes iron ore, metallurgical coal and manganese.

Combining the assets of the two companies within the same geography would, he said, allow more product to be produced more quickly and more cheaply.

Also, the all-share offer was specifically targeted towards shareholders from both companies remaining invested in the combined entity.

But South African-born Kloppers made it clear, at the same time, that the proposed acquisition was not causing BHP Billiton to deviate "one inch" from its strategy and, with or without Rio, BHP alone had enormous opportunities to continue to grow and prosper well into the future.

Since BHP Billiton's November 12, 2007, proposal, Rio Tinto has upped its own profile vigorously and exploited the antipathy of particularly some Chinese customers towards the transaction, which is viewed in some circles as a move that could limit competition in certain key commodity areas.

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