Rio Tinto delivered production increases across its iron ore, copper and bauxite operations in 2022, despite aluminium production decreasing.
The major miner produced 324.1 million tonnes (Mt) of iron ore (100 per cent basis) in 2022, 1 per cent higher than 2021, while shipments (321.6Mt) were in line with the 2021 total.
Rio boosted its fourth quarter iron ore production and shipments by 6 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively, compared to the third quarter of 2022. Similar increases were achieved compared to the fourth quarter of 2021.
The company said it benefited from performance improvements throughout the year, with the continued ramp up of its Gudai-Darri iron ore operation in 2023 to deliver a further boost.
Despite experiencing equipment reliability issues at its Weipa and Gove bauxite operations in 2022, Rio posted a 1 per cent increase in production from 2021 with an output of 54.6Mt across the 12 months.
Higher grades at the Kennecott and Escondida mines in 2022 were partly offset by lower grades and recoveries at Oyu Tolgoi due to planned mine sequencing. Despite this, Rio still delivered a 6 per cent increase in annual production from 2021, with 521,000 tonnes produced in 2022.
Rio Tinto owns a 100 per cent stake in Kennecott, 30 per cent interest in Escondida and recently increased its stake in Oyu Tolgoi to 66 per cent through its acquisition of Turquoise Hill Resources. The Mongolian mine is considered one of largest copper deposits in the world.
Annual aluminium production of 3Mt was down 4 per cent from 2021, with reduced outputs from the Kitimat smelter in Canada and Boyne smelter in Queensland.
“The rate of pot restarts at Kitimat picked up in the fourth quarter and Boyne smelter cell recovery efforts continued,” Rio said.
“Recovery at both smelters is progressing with full ramp-up expected to be completed during the course of 2023. All of our other aluminium smelters continued to demonstrate stable performance.”
Rio Tinto’s 2023 production guidance is unchanged since November 2022 except for mined copper, which has increased from between 550,000–600,000 tonnes of copper to 600,000–655,000 tonnes, reflecting the company’s increased ownership in Oyu Tolgoi from 33 per cent to 66 per cent.
Rio chief executive Jacob Stausholm said the Turquoise Hill acquisition was a significant milestone.
“The acquisition of Turquoise Hill Resources strengthens our copper portfolio and demonstrates our ability to allocate capital with discipline to grow in materials the world needs for the energy transition and delivering long-term value for our shareholders,” he said.