|
|
 |
Fourth quarter 2005 operations review
18 January 2006
- The strong operational performance seen in the first nine months of the year continued with many operations setting production records for the full year.
- Hamersley’s shipments of iron ore set a new record for both the quarter and the full year. The ramp-up of the new shiploading facilities at Dampier boosted export capacity and handled their first shipment of lump ore.
- Kennecott Utah Copper continued its focus on the higher grade molybdenum ore to take advantage of higher margin production afforded by strong molybdenum markets. Fourth quarter molybdenum production was 16 per cent higher than the previous record set in the third quarter, and full year production was 130 per cent above prior year. This resulted in lower mined copper units in line with lower grades.
- Gold and copper production at the Grasberg mine increased further during the quarter, benefiting from increased access to higher grade ore and improvements in mill throughput.
- Full year alumina production for 2005 was 33 per cent higher than 2004. However, fourth quarter production at the Comalco Alumina Refinery continued to be impacted by digestion pump performance. Annual production at the Queensland Alumina Refinery was a record.
- The underground development at the Argyle diamond mine and the life extension at the Rössing uranium mine were approved during the quarter.
- Favourable market conditions enabled the sale of Rio Tinto’s interest in Lihir Gold to take place in November.
- Pre-tax expenditure on exploration and evaluation in 2005 was $60 million higher than in 2004 reflecting increased brownfield exploration to expand existing resources and continued evaluation work on advanced projects. In December Rio Tinto won the tender to evaluate the La Granja copper project in northern Peru.
All currency figures in this report are US dollars unless otherwise stated
|
|
|
