Rio Tinto posts strong production figures for Q3
Rio Tinto announced strong iron ore production through the third quarter ended September, while coking coal production fell. The company announced that Hamersley iron ore operations in Western Australia's Pilbara region increased production 12 percent to 22.2 million metric tons. Total production in the region through the first nine months increased 18 percent year on year to 63.7 million metric tons. Meanwhile, the companys Robe joint venture produced 13.9 million metric tons of ore thanks to the completion of West Angelas expansion project, which increased capacity to 25 million metric tons per year. However, in the third quarter, Rio Tintos coking coal production dropped 15 percent to 1.7 million metric tons, affected by lower output at the Kestral mine due to unstable ground conditions and capacity constraints.