Rio iron ore production at record

14th Oct 2009 07:27

Mining giant Rio Tinto set a new record for iron ore production in its third quarter with shipments to China still high despite the row over the arrest and detainment of four employees on spying charges. The miner upgraded its 2009 iron ore production target by up to 7.5% after the third quarter performance and the continued strong demand from Chinese steelmakers."We are seeing early signs of a recovery in some of our key markets, although we remain cautious about the near term outlook. Our businesses continue to operate efficiently: iron ore production set a new quarterly record, with shipments to China maintained at a high level," chief executive Tom Albanese said. "We also benefited from higher third quarter production at all of our copper operations compared with last year. Cost reductions continue apace and we have made considerable progress on divestments this quarter enabling us to further reduce net debt," he added.Global iron ore production set a new quarterly record and was up 12% compared with the third quarter of 2008. Mined copper production rose 24% on the third quarter of 2008 with higher production at all operations, in particular at Kennecott Utah Copper and Grasberg. Refined copper production was up 46% on the third quarter of 2008. Bauxite production was down 16% and aluminium down 4%, compared with the third quarter of 2008. Alumina production increased marginally. Coking coal was down five per cent on the third quarter of 2008. Australian thermal coal production was up 12% on the same period last year.