Operations & financial report
Rio Tinto Minerals operations
RTM comprises borates, talc and salt mines, refineries, and shipping and packing facilities on five continents. Global headquarters are located in Denver, Colorado.
Borates - More than one million tonnes of refined borates are produced at Boron Operations, the organisation's principal borate mining and refining operation in California's Mojave Desert. Borates are essential to plants and part of a healthy diet for people. They are also key ingredients in hundreds of products essential to an acceptable standard of living, chief among them: insulation fibreglass, textile fibreglass, and heat resistant glass (44 per cent of world demand); ceramic and enamel frits and glazes (13 per cent); detergents, soaps and personal care products (six per cent); agricultural micro-nutrients (seven per cent); and other uses including wood preservatives and flame retardants (30 per cent).
Talc - RTM operates talc mines - including the world's largest, in southwest France - and processing facilities in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain and the US. Talcs enhance performance in countless applications, including paper, paints, polymers, automotive mouldings, ceramics, personal care products and pharmaceuticals. This multiplicity demands an in depth understanding not only of talc's properties and functions but also of its full range of applications and user industries.
Salt (Rio Tinto: 68.4 per cent) - RTM manages three salt operations located in Western Australia. It produces industrial salt by solar evaporation at its Dampier, Port Hedland and Lake MacLeod operations, where it also mines gypsum. Customers are located in Asia and the Middle East. The majority are chemical companies who use salt as feedstock for the production of chlorine and caustic soda (together known as chlor-alkali production). Products are also used as food salt and for general purposes including road de-icing.
2007 operating performance
Borates - Production volumes were up one per cent at 560,000 tonnes of boric oxide, and sales volumes declined slightly from 2006. North American markets continued to be affected by a sluggish housing industry in 2007 but were offset by strong growth in Asian markets and steady performance in European markets.
Talc - Talc output decreased by eight per cent to 1,281,000 tonnes as smaller operations were closed and marginal sales were discontinued. Sales volumes decreased slightly. Strong polymer and coating sales in Europe offset volume declines in North America driven by the housing and automotive sector slowdown.
Salt (Rio Tinto: 68.4 per cent) - The residual effects of the cyclones in Western Australia led to a three per cent decline in salt volumes to 5.2 million tonnes (Rio Tinto share). The recovery effort is expected to take until the fourth quarter of 2008, with full capacity likely in 2010. A 500,000 tonnes per annum capacity expansion at Lake MacLeod has been completed.
