The world’s third-largest mining company said its half-year profit has more than doubled to a record, news that could potentially lend some strength to exchange traded funds (ETFs).

Rio Tinto said its record profit owes much to China’s demand for iron ore and other metals, reports the Associated Press. Through June 30, profits shot up 112.5% from one year ago because of the higher cost of commodities and production.

The urbanization of China and other developing countries has been a big boon to the steel industry. According to one report, China is one of the world’s largest steel industry and is recording the fastest growth rate in both production and consumption. And that’s not the end of it, either: consumption is forecast to grow 10% in 2009 against the levels in 2007.

Rio Tinto is a major component of two ETFs:

• iShares MSCI Australia (EWA): down 23.6% year-to-date; Rio Tinto is 4.4%
• Market Vectors Steel (SLX): down 8.7% year-to-date; Rio Tinto is 12.5%

Tags: Asia, Australia, China, Emerging Markets, EWA, Metals & Mining, SLX, Steel