Rio Tinto
a river in southern Spain in the Province of Huelva, near whose sources are rich copper mines; the annual output (copper and sulphur) reaches 1,400,000 tons; these minerals are exported from the port of HUELVA (q. v.), 45 miles distant, near the mouth of the river. These mines were worked by the Romans-their Tharsis. During the years of Moorish supremacy they were unused, but they have been worked again since the middle of the 18th century. They were bought in 1872 by the Rio Tinto (London-Bremen) Syndicate for $20,000,000.