Rio Tinto to supply gold for Wal-Mart

The Rio Tinto mining company has announced it will be providing gold for Wal-Mart's jewellery collection called Love, Earth.

Using gold from Rio Tinto's mine in Utah, Wal-Mart will sell the jewellery both in-store, in Sam's Club and on both of the companies' websites.

Wal-Mart's decision to start selling traceable gold jewellery was announced earlier this week.

A deal was created between Conservation International and the department store which will enable customers to find out exactly where their jewellery comes from.

Pam Mortensen, vice president and divisional merchandise manager for Wal-Mart, said: "As the largest retailer of jewellery in the world, Wal-Mart is in a unique position to influence sustainable practices in the jewellery industry."

In addition, the Newmont Mining Corporation also revealed it would be supplying the Love, Earth collection with gold from its mines.

Customers will be able to log on online and find out about the environmental programmes of each of the suppliers.