By Rhiannon Hoyle
Rio Tinto on Tuesday said it produced more iron ore, aluminum and copper last year than the year before, reaching annual targets as it ramped up new mining operations in Australia and Mongolia.
The world’s second-biggest miner by market value said it produced 331.5 million metric tons of iron ore at its network of mines in Australia in 2023, up 2% versus 2022, and shipped 331.8 million tons, up 3%. Rio Tinto, a top exporter of the steel ingredient, previously told investors it expected shipments in the upper half of a 320-million to 335-million ton range.
The miner, a large supplier of industrial commodities aluminum and copper, said it produced more of those metals, too.
Rio Tinto reported annual aluminum production of roughly 3.3 million tons, up 9% year-on-year and at the top end of its own forecast of 3.1 million to 3.3 million tons. The result was bolstered by the return to full production at its Kitimat smelter in Canada.
The company’s output of mined copper totaled 620,000 tons. That was 2% higher than in 2022, before the miner bought out minority shareholders in the company that controlled the big Oyu Tolgoi copper-and-gold mine in Mongolia.
Overall, Rio Tinto said 2023 group output was just over 3% higher than the year earlier, on a copper-equivalent basis. The company produces other commodities including diamonds and titanium dioxide, a white pigment used in paints, plastics and paper.
Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at [email protected]
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