Rio Tinto has announced that its global iron ore production for the second quarter of 2010 fell 2% compared to 2009. In its second quarter operations review, the mining giant said its iron ore output dropped to 43.6 million metric tons from 44.6 million tons a year earlier.
Rio attributed the slight decline to several small planned closures, according to Bloomberg.
The company’s mined copper and gold production fell 19% and 34% respectively, primarily due to lower grades at Kennecott Utah Copper, US, and Grasberg, Indonesia.
However, Rio increased its annual forecast for its share of mined copper production to 690,000 t from 680,000 t.
Rio’s hard coking coal production climbed 26% in the second quarter of 2009 following increased investment at its Queensland operations in Australia.
The company will also invest $469m in constructing the Kennecott Eagle nickel and copper mine in Michigan, US, after receiving final environmental approvals, with first production expected in late 2013. Source:Mining Technology
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