Rio Tinto Output Falls Amid Lower Grades

RAPAPORT… Lower mining grades and reduced ore availability contributed
to a drop in Rio Tinto’s third-quarter diamond production, the company reported
Wednesday.



Output at its wholly owned Argyle mine in Australia
fell 7% year on year, yielding 3.6 million carats in the three-month period
ending September 30. Production was hampered by lower grades, despite stronger mining and processing rates,
Rio Tinto said.



Rio Tinto’s share of production at the Diavik mine in Canada also
shrank 7% to 994,000 carats for the same period due to lower ore availability both
underground and at the A21 extension pipe it opened in August last year. The company owns 60% of the deposit,
with Dominion Diamond Mines holding the remainder.



Rio Tinto’s total diamond production, including its share of Diavik
goods, dropped 7% to 4.5 million carats.



For the first nine months of the year, the miner produced
12.8 million carats, compared to 14.1 million in the same period of 2018. Its
2019 forecast remains unchanged at 15 million to 17 million carats, down from 18.4
million carats last year.

Image: The Argyle mine in Australia. (Rio Tinto)