Rio Tinto Chief Executive Mr Jakob Stausholm said “We made notable progress during the quarter with the commencement of underground mining at Oyu Tolgoi following a comprehensive agreement reached with the Government of Mongolia, completed the acquisition of the Rincon lithium project in Argentina, and signed a framework agreement at the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea. These projects are all aligned with our strategy of growing in materials essential to a decarbonising world. Production in the first quarter was challenging as expected, re-emphasising a need to lift our operational performance. We launched seven more deployments of the Rio Tinto Safe Production System, building on the achievements from the previous rollouts. As we ramp up Gudai-Darri, our iron ore business will have greater production capacity and be better placed to produce additional tonnes of Pilbara Blend in the second half.”Production in Q1 of 2022Pilbara iron ore shipments (100% basis) - 71.5 million tonne, down 8% YoYPilbara iron ore production (100% basis) -71.7 million tonne, down 6% YoYIOC iron ore pellets & concentrate -2.4 million tonne, up 3% YoYBauxite - 13.6 million tonne, flat YoYAluminium - 736 kilo tonne, down 8% YoYMined Copper - 125 kilo tonne, up 4% YoYTitanium dioxide slag - 273 kilo tonne, down 2% YoYPilbara operations had a challenging first quarter, as expected. Rio produced 71.7 million tonnes (100% basis), 6% lower than the first quarter of 2021. Pilbara shipments in the first quarter were 71.5 million tonnes (100% basis), 8% lower than the first quarter of 2021. Rio expect increased production volumes and improved product mix in the second half with the commissioning and ramp up of Gudai-Darri, commissioning of the Robe Valley wet plant and improved mine pit health. Full year shipments guidance remains unchanged.Bauxite production of 13.6 million tonnes was in line with the first quarter of 2021 with similar wet weather disruptions as the corresponding period.Aluminium production of 0.7 million tonnes was 8% lower than the first quarter of 2021 due to reduced capacity at our Kitimat smelter in British Columbia following the strike which commenced in July 2021. Preparations continue for the Kitimat smelter to progressively restart from June 2022 with full ramp up expected by the end of the year. All our other smelters continued to have stable performance, despite considerable challenges related to unplanned employee absences due to COVID-19.Mined copper production of 125 thousand tonnes was 4% higher than the first quarter of 2021 due to higher recoveries and grades at Kennecott, partly offset by lower grades at Oyu Tolgoi and lower throughput at Escondida. On 1 April, we announced a new five-year Collective Bargaining Agreement had been reached with unions representing approximately 1,300 employees at the Kennecott operation.
Rio Tinto Chief Executive Mr Jakob Stausholm said “We made notable progress during the quarter with the commencement of underground mining at Oyu Tolgoi following a comprehensive agreement reached with the Government of Mongolia, completed the acquisition of the Rincon lithium project in Argentina, and signed a framework agreement at the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea. These projects are all aligned with our strategy of growing in materials essential to a decarbonising world. Production in the first quarter was challenging as expected, re-emphasising a need to lift our operational performance. We launched seven more deployments of the Rio Tinto Safe Production System, building on the achievements from the previous rollouts. As we ramp up Gudai-Darri, our iron ore business will have greater production capacity and be better placed to produce additional tonnes of Pilbara Blend in the second half.”Production in Q1 of 2022Pilbara iron ore shipments (100% basis) - 71.5 million tonne, down 8% YoYPilbara iron ore production (100% basis) -71.7 million tonne, down 6% YoYIOC iron ore pellets & concentrate -2.4 million tonne, up 3% YoYBauxite - 13.6 million tonne, flat YoYAluminium - 736 kilo tonne, down 8% YoYMined Copper - 125 kilo tonne, up 4% YoYTitanium dioxide slag - 273 kilo tonne, down 2% YoYPilbara operations had a challenging first quarter, as expected. Rio produced 71.7 million tonnes (100% basis), 6% lower than the first quarter of 2021. Pilbara shipments in the first quarter were 71.5 million tonnes (100% basis), 8% lower than the first quarter of 2021. Rio expect increased production volumes and improved product mix in the second half with the commissioning and ramp up of Gudai-Darri, commissioning of the Robe Valley wet plant and improved mine pit health. Full year shipments guidance remains unchanged.Bauxite production of 13.6 million tonnes was in line with the first quarter of 2021 with similar wet weather disruptions as the corresponding period.Aluminium production of 0.7 million tonnes was 8% lower than the first quarter of 2021 due to reduced capacity at our Kitimat smelter in British Columbia following the strike which commenced in July 2021. Preparations continue for the Kitimat smelter to progressively restart from June 2022 with full ramp up expected by the end of the year. All our other smelters continued to have stable performance, despite considerable challenges related to unplanned employee absences due to COVID-19.Mined copper production of 125 thousand tonnes was 4% higher than the first quarter of 2021 due to higher recoveries and grades at Kennecott, partly offset by lower grades at Oyu Tolgoi and lower throughput at Escondida. On 1 April, we announced a new five-year Collective Bargaining Agreement had been reached with unions representing approximately 1,300 employees at the Kennecott operation.
