Rio Tinto Diamond Production +50% in Q4 2015
January 19, 16
(IDEX Online News) – Rio Tinto has announced that its diamond production in the fourth quarter of 2015 has increased by 50 percent over the same period a year previously.
The company produced 4.27 million carats from its Argyle and Diavik mines compared to 2.84 million carats in the fourth quarter of 2014.
The Argyle mine was particularly productive, increasing output by 86 percent over the same period a year prior, although down 4 percent compared to the previous quarter. Argyle’s production of 13.47 million carats was a 47-percent increase on the 9.15 million carats produced in 2014, and was facilitated by the ramp-up of production from the underground mine.
The Diavik mine saw a 3-percent year-on-year decline to 899,000 carats, although this figure was an 18-percent increase compared to the third quarter results. The reduction, however, was partially offset by higher recovered grades. Diavik’s 2015 production of 3.84 million carats was an 11-percent fall from the 4.26 million carats produced in 2014.
Rio Tinto’s full year diamond production from its three mines, Argyle, Diavik and Murowa, which it sold in June last year, increased from 13.87 million in 2014 to 17.39 million in 2015 – a 20-percent increase.