Bad luck has struck upon Rio Tinto as it suffered two big losses during the weekend.

The first loss was the introduction of a higher tax by Canberra of the super-tax on mining profits, which was announced on Sunday by the State Government.

The company also got a rejection in Guinea where a $US2.5 billion deal with Brazil's Vale. It also received a harsh refusal by an Israeli diamond investor to have full ownership of the Simandou iron ore deposit.

The business deal between Vale and the Israeli-based BSG Tesources owned by Beny Steinmetz include the northern end of the Simandou deposit. BSG bought the tenements after Rio was forced to surrender it to the Guinea government in 2008 for slowing its development plans for the deposit.

The Simandou iron deposit is considered to be the world's next Pilbara, according to Rio.

The company was seeking a reinstatement of full ownership of Simandou to the Guinea government; however, possibilities are slim especially with the entry of Vale.

The Vale deal would also put Vale as the biggest iron ore producer, followed by Rio. The global steel community will not be pleased with the results - if that happens.

The Vale mining deposit is considered as one of the best locations for iron ore.