Rio Tinto Q1 Operations: Diamond Production 6,324,000 Carats

Multi commodity miner Rio Tinto released its first quarter operations review this morning, saying production of most principal commodities was above the comparative period of 2005, most mines and plants operated at or near capacity in order to take advantage of strong markets. However, diamond production was not among them.

Argyle produced 5,214,000 carats – a sharp 40 percent decline compared to the first quarter of 2005, and a 19 percent decline compared to the previous quarter. In terms of Rio Tinto’s share of production, Diavik produced 1,073,000 carats – a 2 percent increase compared to the first quarter of 2005, and a 2 percent decline compared to the fourth quarter of 2005.

In terms of volume, this results in an overall decline of 35 percent compared to the first quarter of 2005 and 17 percent decline compared to the fourth quarter of 2005.

At Argyle the miner processed less tons during the quarter than the same quarter of 2005 due to wet weather and the processing of ore of variable quality. “Carat production reflects the lower tons processed and lower grade in line with the revised life of mine plan. Continuing variability in production levels can be expected as the mine reaches the end of the open-pit life,” said the company in a release.

At Diavik, grades were similar to the previous quarter with a relatively constant mix from higher grade A154S ore and lower grade A154N ore.

Rio’s 78 percent share of the Murowa diamond mine in Zimbabwe was 38,000 carats – a 26 percent decline compared to the first quarter of 2005 and a 13.5 percent decline compared to the fourth quarter of 2005.

The company said diamond exploration continued in Canada, Botswana, Mauritania, India and Brazil.

In its review released today it did not report on the value of production.