October 11, 2008

Rio lifts force majeure at Australian coal mine

Reuters reported that Rio Tinto Ltd has lifted force majeure on coal shipments from its Hail Creek coking coal mine in Australia. Rio had declared force majeure in February after heavy rains brought production from the mine to a standstill.

Mr Hubie van Dalsen MD of Rio Tinto's Australian coal operations would not comment on the total coal production Rio lost due to the floods, but said it had used all of its port and rail allocations. He added that it had also used some of the allocations its competitors had been unable to use to sell some spot coal.

Mr Van Dalsen said that "We have a number of significant organic development opportunities and we remain open minded for any acquisition opportunities that may come our way.”

Rio in December earmarked USD 991 million to extend its Kestrel coking coal mine to lift output to an average of 5.7 million tonnes a year until 2031. Separately, a USD 950 million investment at its Clermont coal mine was expected reach full capacity in 2013 and produce up to 12.2 million tonnes of high-grade thermal coal annually.