Rio Tinto Posts 13% Rise in Output in Q1

(IDEX Online) – Diversified miner Rio Tinto posted a 13-percent rise on the year in diamond production to 3.65 ‎million carats in the first quarter of this year.

The mining giant reported that the rise was primarily due to larger production at the firm's 100-percent owned Argyle diamond mine in Australia.

Diamond output from Argyle jumped 24 percent to 2.46 ‎million carats as a result of higher-grade ore from the underground mine and the processing of highly concentrated tailings.

Meanwhile, Rio’s 60 percent stake of production from the Diavik mine in Canada showed a four-percent decline to 1.12 million carats as a result of more mined and processed ore from the lower grade A154N pipe.

At the Murowa mine in Zimbabwe, where Rio Tinto has a 78-percent holding, there was a 12-‎percent fall to 69,000 carats in the quarter caused by lower grades, a decline in ore processed and as a result of wet weather affecting operations.

Rio Tinto expects to produce 16 million carats of rough diamonds this year.