Someone NEEDS Copper Baby!!!! Rio Tinto said the collapse of a large section of the pit wall at the Bingham Canyon mine in Utah last week will mean its production of refined copper could fall by about 27% this year, making the company even more reliant on iron ore prices to drive its earnings.
Ground near a section of the pit had been unstable for months and finally slumped into the mine last Wednesday, carrying with it more than 150 million metric tons of material and damaging 14 haulage trucks and other equipment. Rio Tinto had moved buildings and equipment in anticipation of a slide, but Chief Executive Sam Walsh said the effect on production would still be significant.
The company said it is evaluating options to use stockpiles of material and resume mining ore from lower sections of the pit, which is one of the biggest copper mines in the U.S. An early assessment suggests the mine's refined copper output will be cut by about 100,000 tons this year, which will reduce output from all mines the company owns or has stakes in to about 205,000 tons.
Read more:
https://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2013/04/16/rio-tinto-expects-utah-landslide-to-hit-copper-output/#ixzz2QeaN9Fso
Its the calm before the storm.!!!!!!