18 July 2007

Second quarter 2007 operations review

On 12 July 2007 Rio Tinto made a recommended all cash offer for Alcan of $101 per common share, valuing Alcan at $38.1 billion.
The Group's share of iron ore production was a record for the quarter, increasing by 11 per cent compared with the second quarter of 2006, and by 15 per cent compared with the previous quarter, as the brownfield mine expansions continued to add to capacity.
Mined copper production fell by ten per cent compared with the same quarter of 2006 in line with lower grades at Kennecott Utah Copper.
Refined copper production increased by 20 per cent compared with the second quarter of 2006 due to higher production at the Escondida leach plant.
Higher gold grades at Grasberg contributed to a 36 per cent increase in Rio Tinto's share of mined gold production compared with the second quarter of 2006.
Approval was given in July for the $1.8 billion expansion of the Yarwun Alumina Refinery. The expansion will more than double annual production, increasing output by two million tonnes to 3.4 million tonnes by 2011.
A recovery in market conditions led to a six per cent increase in hard coking coal production compared with the corresponding quarter of 2006, despite infrastructure challenges in Queensland.
Production of thermal and semi-soft Australian coal decreased by 27 per cent compared with the second quarter of 2006 following heavy rainfall in June. This compounded the infrastructure challenges of congested port and railway infrastructure experienced throughout the quarter.
Uranium production increased by 46 per cent compared with the second quarter of 2006, with the Ranger operation able to process higher grade ore mined prior to the heavy rainfalls experienced in the first quarter of 2007. This more than offset a reduction in Rössing production from lower grades.
Diamond production at Diavik set a new quarterly record.

All currency figures in this report are US dollars unless otherwise stated

Second quarter 2007 operations review [PDF: 432 KB]

Second quarter 2007 operations review - Japanese version [PDF: 259 KB]