SYDNEY — Rio Tinto, the parent corporation of Kennecott Utah Copper, has sold a division of its Alcan unit for $1.2 billion as it continues to reduce debt, the Anglo-Australian mining company said in a statement Monday.

The deal to sell its Alcan Packaging Food Americas division to U.S.-based Bemis Company Inc. is subject to regulatory approvals and $200 million of the total price may be in the form of Bemis shares.

The move is the latest by Rio to reduce its debt, which is about $23.9 billion after raising fresh capital last week through a share issue. Rio incurred significant debt in its 2007 purchase of Canadian aluminum giant Alcan Inc. for $38 billion.

So far in 2009, Rio Tinto has announced a total of $3.7 billion of asset sales, including its interest in an aluminum smelter in China, Brazilian iron ore operations and a coal mine in the United States.