Rio Tinto's Australian operation stood down from high alert this week, after preparations to receive chairman Jan du Plessis were put on ice. 
Du Plessis was set to meet Australian funds on the Rio register and talk tomedia figures, as well as a possible trip to Canberra. Malcolm Turnbull's reshuffle has reintroduced to the cabinet the stand-alone energy and resources portfolio, now held by Josh Frydenberg, who, like Rio, is based in Melbourne. Join the dots.
But du Plessis is also chairman of Anglo-South African brewer SABMiller, under a $145 billion takeover offer from Belgian-American competitor AB InBev. A year (to the day) after Glencore's Ivan Glasenberg called, the Rio Tinto supremo is finally fielding a serious offer. Little wonder he's sitting tight.