Rio Tinto Plc (NYSE: RIO, Stock Forum) said Tuesday it produced a record amount of iron ore in the first half of 2012. The Anglo-Australian mining giant also said production of copper, bauxite, alumina, coking coal, and titanium dioxide was also higher than in the second quarter of 2011.
First half iron ore production of 120 million tonnes (94 million tonnes attributable) and shipments of 115 million tonnes were both 4% higher than the first half of 2011. Global iron ore production for the quarter totaled 62 million tonnes (49 million tonnes attributable), in line with the second quarter of 2011.
“Global economic conditions and sentiment dropped markedly in the second quarter,’’ said Rio Chief Executive Officer Tom Albanese. “We are keeping a close eye on the pace of the U.S. recovery, the continuing Eurozone crisis, and the impact of efforts to stimulate the Chinese economy on the markets that we serve,’’ he said.
“Our investment programme remains resilient to this market volatility, as our tier one projects are robust under any probable macroeconomic scenario.’’
Rio Tinto, which has corporate offices in London, England and Melbourne, Australia, is scheduled to reports its 2012 first half financial results on August 8th, a spokesman said.
Trading at US$46.20 on Tuesday, Rio Tinto has a market cap of $90.7 billion, based on 1.96 billion shares outstanding. The 52-week range is $73.39 and $40.50.