BUZZ-Australia's Rio Tinto hits near 1-month high as spot iron ore prices rise
** Iron ore miner Rio Tinto Ltd rises as much as 2.6 pct to its highest since Aug 13
** Spot iron ore prices post their biggest weekly gain of about 5 pct, highest since July
** About 2.7 mln shares change hands versus the 30-day average of 2.4 mln
** Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) had lost about 11.6 pct this year as of Thursday's close (anusha.r.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)