Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto Plc (RTNTF, RIO, RIO.L, RTPPF) Monday said that its Pilbara iron ore production for the fourth quarter slipped by 2 percent to 84.1 million tons, while Pilbara iron ore shipments also dropped by 5 percent to 84.1 million tons.
For the full year 2021, Pilbara iron ore production dropped by 4% to 319.7 million tons, while Pilbara iron ore shipments also slid by 3% to 321.6 million tons.
Bauxite production for the quarter was 13.1 million tons, 2 percent lower than last year. During the fourth quarter, aluminum production slipped 7 percent to 757 thousand tons.
Titanium dioxide slag production slumped 16 percent, and production of pellets and concentrate at IOC was down 9 percent.
Looking ahead to the full year 2022, the Group now expects Pilbara shipments to be in the range of 320 million – 335 million tons and bauxite production of 54 million – 57 million tons.
Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm, said: “In 2021 we continued to experience strong demand for our products while operating conditions remained challenging, including due to prolonged COVID-19 disruptions. Despite this, we progressed a number of our projects, including the Pilbara replacement mines, underlining the resilience of the business and the commitment and flexibility of our people, communities and host governments.”
“We are seeing some initial positive results from the implementation of the Rio Tinto Safe Production System, which we will significantly ramp up in 2022, as we continue to work hard to improve our operational performance to become the best operator.