Releasing its production report last week, the company said Murowa Mine had produced 49 000 carats of diamonds, a massive increase from the second quarter of 2009.
Overall, Rio Tinto’s production rose 182 percent year on year to 3.61 million carats in the second quarter of this year.
2010 continues to shape up well for Rio Tinto and we are driving our operations at close to capacity. Markets for most of our products are strong and the overall long term demand outlook is positive. But in recent weeks, fears about a possible double-dip recession in OECD countries and a slight slowdown in Chinese growth have led to some weakening in sentiment. We believe this pattern of volatility in the global economy is set to continue. Growth is firmly back on our agenda. We have a large range of options for expansion and investment competing for capital, said chief executive, Tom Albanese.
Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK , combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed public company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is a public company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Rio Tinto’s business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and Southern Africa.
Full scale production at its Zimbabwean subsidiary is expected to process 200 000 tonnes of ore per year, although it is possible to push production to as much as one million tonnes annually through further capital investment.
Post published in: Economy