JAKARTA (Reuters) - Rio Tinto <RIO.AX><RIO.L> is not expected until 2022 to relinquish its interest in the giant Grasberg copper mine in Indonesia operated by the local unit of Freeport McMoRan Inc<FCX.N>, a government official said on Friday.
"In 2022 it will automatically convert to a shareholding," the official said, referring to Rio's 40 percent participating interest in Grasberg under a joint venture with PT Freeport Indonesia.
(Reporting by Fergus Jensen)
