SYDNEY: Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto said Thursday it had made its first-ever iron ore sale to India, in what it called a "ground-breaking" development.

The company's iron ore chief Sam Walsh said Rio had sold a 160,000 metric-ton shipment to Indian steelmaker Essar for export later this month.

"To me, this is a ground-breaking sale and I think it is a good signal for us and Western Australia -- it is strategic for us," Walsh told Dow Jones Newswires.

"This is only one shipment at this stage but this is very significant in terms of forging a relationship with Essar, and potentially opening doors." "We have long believed that India is a long-term market of great potential, and this development should be seen in that context," he added.

Walsh said the sale, made at international spot rates, was also significant for Rio's plans to launch iron ore operations in Orissa state, where it has a 51 percent stake in a joint venture with state-owned Orissa Mining Corp.

"It is also potentially significant given our iron ore project in Orissa, which we expect will also be a source to supply the growing Indian market," Walsh said.

He did not confirm reports that the shipment was part of a request from Essar for up to three million tons of iron ore.

Rio, the world's second-largest producer of iron ore, has fast-industrialising China as its chief export market, but emerging India is also expected to underpin a boom in demand for resources.

Australian officials have forecast a "decades-long" return to stellar growth fuelled by demand for commodities from developing nations.

The world's largest miner BHP Billiton, which agreed this month to combine its Western Australia iron ore operations with Rio, has said it expects global steel demand to double in 15 years.

India would partly drive a 250 percent increase in seaborne iron ore demand by 2025, and was also expected to intensely consume energy and coking coal, BHP said.