Rio Tinto releases third quarter production results
15 Octubre 2024 - 4:24PM
Business Wire
Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said: “We continue to
strengthen our operations, with the roll-out of the Safe Production
System delivering consistent production at our Pilbara iron ore
business and a step change from our Australian bauxite mines. We
are building on this, with more work to do across our global
portfolio.
“We progressed our major projects to deliver profitable organic
growth. We are on track for first production from our Simandou
high-grade iron ore project next year and first lithium from the
Rincon starter plant by the end of this year. Meanwhile the ramp-up
of copper production continues at the Oyu Tolgoi underground
mine.
“We announced the acquisition of Arcadium Lithium, bringing a
world-class lithium business alongside our leading aluminium and
copper operations to supply materials needed for the energy
transition. This is aligned with our strategy and our disciplined
capital allocation framework, increasing our exposure to a
high-growth, attractive market at the right point in the cycle.
“The decarbonisation of our business remains a priority and is
progressing well. We took another important step in securing a
long-term future for the Boyne Smelter, announcing a partnership
with the Queensland Government to support investment in renewable
energy projects.
“Our long-term pathway to deliver profitable growth and create
shareholder value remains clear, as we progress our business in
line with our four objectives.”
Production1
Quarter 3
2024
vs Q3
2023
vs Q2
2024
9 months
2024
vs 9 m
2023
Pilbara iron ore shipments
(100% basis) (Mt)
84.5
+1%
+5%
242.9
-1%
Pilbara iron ore production
(100% basis) (Mt)
84.1
+1%
+6%
241.5
-1%
Bauxite (Mt)
15.1
+8%
+3%
43.2
+9%
Aluminium2 (kt)
809
-2%
-2%
2,459
+1%
Mined Copper (consolidated
basis) (kt)
168
-1%
-2%
495
+8%
Titanium dioxide slag
(kt)
263
+7%
+11%
755
-10%
IOC3 iron ore pellets &
concentrate (Mt)
2.1
-11%
-3%
6.9
-1%
1 Rio Tinto share unless otherwise
stated
2 Includes primary aluminium
only
3 Iron Ore Company of Canada
Q3 2024 operational highlights and other key
announcements
- Our all injury frequency rate (AIFR) for the third quarter was
0.40, an increase from the second quarter of this year (0.31) and
the third quarter of 2023 (0.35). We continue to prioritise
learning from safety incidents to improve the effectiveness of our
critical controls. The health, safety and wellbeing of our people
and partners remains at the heart of everything we do.
- We are on track to deliver our ambition to grow overall copper
equivalent production (based on long-term consensus pricing) by
around 3% of compound annual growth from 2024 to 2028 from our
existing portfolio and projects already in execution.
- In the Pilbara, we produced 84.1 million tonnes (Rio Tinto
share 71.0 million tonnes) in the third quarter, 1% higher than the
corresponding period of 2023. Productivity gains continue to offset
ore depletion. Shipments of 84.5 million tonnes (Rio Tinto share
72.5 million tonnes) were also 1% higher than the third quarter of
2023.
- Bauxite production of 15.1 million tonnes was 8% higher than
the third quarter of 2023. The improvement continues to be driven
by higher plant availability and utilisation rates owing to the
implementation of the Safe Production System, especially at our
Amrun mine at Weipa, which is operating above nameplate
capacity.
- Aluminium production of 0.8 million tonnes was 2% lower than
the third quarter of 2023. Production at our New Zealand Aluminium
Smelter (NZAS) was impacted by a call from Meridian Energy to
reduce its electricity usage by 185 MW from early August. The call
for reduced usage, for which we are compensated, has now ended and
the smelter ramp-up commenced in late September. The ramp-up is
expected to run through to the second quarter of 2025.
- Mined copper production of 168 thousand tonnes (consolidated
basis) was 1% lower than the third quarter of 2023.
- Kennecott was 44% lower than the third quarter of 2023. As we
identified in our second quarter operations review, highwall
movement was monitored along two major faults during that period.
This movement has limited our ability to access the primary ore
face on the south wall and is increasing the need to supplement
feed to the concentrator with lower grade stockpile ore, impacting
mined copper production by approximately 50 thousand tonnes in
2024. A group of experts, both internal and external, reworked
Kennecott’s mine plan and the results were assessed during the
quarter. The highwall movement will continue to restrict ore
deliveries from the primary ore face and impact mined copper
production in 2025 and 2026. We are working through this change in
mining sequence and will provide a further update at our Investor
Seminar in December.
- Escondida was 15% higher than the third quarter of 2023 due to
higher ore grades being fed to the concentrators (1.00% versus
0.85%) in line with the mining sequence, together with increased
recovery.
- Oyu Tolgoi was 19% higher than the third quarter of 2023 due to
the ramp-up in production and higher grade from the underground
mine. However, production was 5% lower than the previous quarter
mainly due to planned maintenance at the concentrator and adverse
weather impacting open pit operations. Production from the
underground mine was marginally impacted by a minor delay to the
start of commissioning of the conveyor to surface, with first ore
on belt now expected in the second half of October. The underground
mine delivered a copper head grade of 2.05% (vs 1.73% in the third
quarter of 2023) with an overall copper head grade of 0.67% (vs
0.52%).
- Titanium dioxide slag production was 7% higher than the third
quarter of 2023 due to improved smelter stability and performance.
A furnace reconstruction continues at our RTIT Quebec Operations,
and we continue to operate six out of nine furnaces in Quebec and
three out of four at Richards Bay Minerals (RBM).
- IOC production was 11% lower than the third quarter of 2023 due
to an 11-day site-wide shutdown following forest fires in mid-July.
This resulted in a revised mine plan and maintenance schedule,
leading to a reduction in our full year iron ore pellets and
concentrate production guidance to 9.1 to 9.6 million tonnes
(previously 9.8 to 11.5 million tonnes).
- In the third quarter, deployment of the Safe Production System
(SPS) continued, now reaching 28 sites (an increase of two from the
second quarter). We continue to deepen the maturity of SPS and are
on track to deliver a 5 million tonne year-on-year production
uplift at Pilbara Iron Ore.
- On 17 July, we announced the appointment of Katie Jackson to
lead the Copper business, succeeding Bold Baatar, who as of 1
September, has moved to the role of Chief Commercial Officer.
- We hosted a site visit for the financial community to our
Aluminium and Iron & Titanium operations in Quebec, Canada
during September. In the management presentation, we set out a
clear pathway to raise both the EBITDA margin and Return on Capital
Employed (ROCE) for our Aluminium business by five percentage
points by 2030. We also set out a targeted increase in ROCE at our
Iron & Titanium business of nine percentage points by 2030 and
a pathway to reach concentrate capacity of 23 million tonnes (100%
basis) of high-grade iron ore at IOC. Presentations by management
also covered technology, decarbonisation and markets.
- Subsequent to the end of the quarter, we announced a definitive
agreement to acquire Arcadium Lithium plc (Arcadium) in an all-cash
transaction for US$5.85 per share. This transaction will bring
Arcadium’s world-class, complementary lithium business into our
portfolio, establishing a global leader in energy transition
commodities. Subject to satisfaction of the outstanding conditions,
the transaction is expected to close in mid-2025.
All figures in this report are unaudited. All currency figures
in this report are US dollars, and comments refer to Rio Tinto’s
share of production, unless otherwise stated.
The full third quarter production results are available here
This announcement is authorised for release to the market by
Andy Hodges, Rio Tinto’s Group Company Secretary.
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