The world's number two diversified miner, Rio Tinto, announced today that copper equivalent production increased by just over 3% from 2022.
The miner added output, but also some saw some production drop due to outages.
Mined copper production was 620,000 tonnes, 2% higher than 2022, due to a full year of increased ownership of Oyu Tolgoi, but copper output was challenged by a conveyor failure at Kennecott. With a smelter rebuild at Kennecott completed, the company expects a return to stable production in the first quarter of 2024. The miner also pointed to its acquisition of PanAmerican Silver’s stake in Agua de la Falda and a joint venture with Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (Codelco) as copper catalysts.
“We made real progress in shaping our portfolio for the future, entering the recycled aluminium market in North America and progressing the world class Simandou iron ore project in Guinea. We have one of the most exciting exploration pipelines in years, including our new copper joint venture with Codelco, launched in December," said Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm in a news release.
