Rio Tinto reports improved bauxite production in Q2 and H1 2018; driven by operational efficiency

Rio Tinto releases production results for the second quarter of 2018. Bauxite production reported an increase and alumina and aluminium production reported a drop both in second quarter as well as in H1 2018. 

Rio Tinto chief executive J-S Jacques said “Operational performance was solid across most commodities, rounding out a strong first half performance for the Group…Our bauxite and copper businesses also delivered strong operating results, demonstrating the success of our ongoing mine-to-market productivity programme, which is increasingly important in an environment of rising cost inflation."

Bauxite production of 13.3 million tonnes was three per cent higher than Q2 2017, attributed to the continued implementation of operational improvements. Gove bauxite mine production increased 18% on continued debottlenecking of the materials handling system. Weipa also achieved improved production. The company shipped 8.7 million tonnes of bauxite to third parties in Q2 2018, 10% higher than Q2 2017 due to firm demand.

The Amrun project remains on schedule for first shipment in the first half of 2019. The stacker and reclaimer have been transported to site following completion of fabrication, whilst the shiploader assembly is also expected to be complete soon.

Alumina production for the quarter was one per cent lower than Q2 2017. Although Rio Tinto is broadly balanced in alumina, it is exposed to long-term legacy alumina sales contracts, which are LME linked. The significant escalation in the alumina index price in Q2 2018 due to international supply disruption caused by Rusal's sanction and Alunorte's production cut increased the financial impact of these legacy contracts. 

Rio Tinto’s expected share of production in 2018 remains unchanged at between 49 and 51 million tonnes of bauxite and 8.0 to 8.2 million tonnes of alumina.