Rio Tinto Posts Strong Rises in Output in Q1-Q3

(IDEX Online News) – Rio Tinto posted a 12-percent jump on the year in diamond output to 4.16 million carats in the third quarter of this year.

For the first nine months of the year, Rio Tinto’s diamond production surged 17 percent to 11.53 million carats.

Production was affected by two main factors, the firm said. The underground mine at the firm’s fully-owned Argyle mine in Western Australia, underwent full commissioning in April this year. Consequently, production soared 26 percent to 3.09 million carats in the third quarter while the level of ore processed jumped 20 percent to 2.09 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, output at the Diavik mine in Canada’s NorthWest Territories, where Rio Tinto has a 60-percent share, fell 13 percent to just over 1.0 million carats.

“At Argyle, carats recovered were 26 percent higher than the third quarter of 2012 reflecting increased tonnes processed in the period and higher grades following commissioning of the underground operation earlier in the year,” the miner said.

“Carats recovered at Diavik were 13 percent lower than in the third quarter of 2012 as a result of lower grades of ore mined during the quarter. Diamonds recovered in the third quarter are seven per cent higher than in the previous quarter of 2013 due to the ramp up of underground mining and higher grades recovered.”

For the January-September period, production at Argyle jumped 27 percent to 8.21 million carats, and at Diavik slipped 3 percent to 3.11 million carats during the nine months.

Production at the Murowa mine in Zimbabwe, in which the mining giant has a 78-percent holding, dropped 24 percent to 70,000 carats in the third quarter, but edged up 1 percent to 217,000 carats in the first three-quarters of the year.

“In 2013, Rio Tinto’s share of production is expected to be 15.7 million carats of diamonds,” the firm said in a statement.