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RAPAPORT... Rio Tinto’s third-quarter diamond production fell 54 percent to 2.787 million carats, the mining group reported in its production summary for the period. Third-quarter production at the company's Argyle mine dropped 51 percent, compared with 2008, to 2.274 million carats.
During the quarter, Rio Tinto implemented a six-week shutdown of the Diavik mine in Canada, in which it has a 60 percent share, with Harry Winston holding a 40 percent stake. Rio Tinto’s share of production at the mine fell 64 percent to 497,000 carats. The company also owns 77.8 percent of Murowa Diamonds in Zimbabwe, where its share of production fell 72 percent to 21,000 carats in the third quarter.
Total production for the nine months that ended September 30 declined 31 percent to 9.575 million carats. Argyle’s year-to-date production fell 28 percent to 7.086 million carats, while Rio Tinto’s share of Diavik production decreased 39 percent to 2.421 million carats. Including Harry Winston’s share, Diavik has produced a total of 4.035 million carats so far this year. The two companies cancelled a second planned shutdown of Diavik “in line with an improvement in market conditions” and the mine is expected to produce between 5 and 6 million carats of rough in 2009, Rio Tinto said. Murowa's production fell 58 percent to 87,000 carats in the first nine months of 2009.
Rio Tinto saw better performances in some of its other product categories, with highlights including record quarterly production at its iron ore operations, which were up 12 percent compared with the third quarter of 2008, while its mined copper output rose 24 percent. The company's mined gold output more than doubled and its refined gold production rose 45 percent. Similarly, its mined silver production grew 39 percent and refined silver increased by 19 percent.
Tom Albanese, Rio Tinto’s chief executive officer (CEO), noted early signs of a recovery in some of the company’s key markets, though he added that “we remain cautious about the near-term outlook.”
LH
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