Rinehart’s Hancock weighs $3.3 billion iron ore mine project
Hancock acquired a 51% interest in the Mt Bevan project from Legacy Iron Ore Ltd. and Hawthorn Resources.
Rio Tinto (LON:RIO), the world’s second largest iron ore producer, has released a Q2 2013 operations review, boasting record iron ore production and overall upward trends in other metals and minerals.
Conveyor belt breakage, flooding and cyclones at the company’s Pilbara iron ore mine did not hinder production, Rio announced. The giant miner produced 6% more iron ore in the first half of 2013 compared to 2012.
The company has been pumping cash into its Australian Pilbara operations and plans further expansion by the end of this quarter, which would bring the mine’s output to 290 million tons annually.
Compared to Q2 2012, production levels are up in all commodities with the exception of coking coal.
Big winners include copper, semi-soft and thermal coal and titanium dioxide feedstock, which were all up more than 10%.
Production at the Kennecott mine in Utah jumped 43%, driving a 17% increase in Rio’s copper output compared to the first half of 2012.
The company expects to see further improvements in copper levels as it ramps up production at Oyu Tolgoi which recently saw its first copper shipment.
Following the operations results on Tuesday, Rio gained 3% on the London exchange.
Creative Commons image by: Mike Baird
