Rio Tinto reports Q1 copper equivalent production up 8% year-over-year

Reports Q1 global iron ore production up 12% year-over-year. Reports Q1 alumina production up 6% year-over-year. Rio Tinto (RIO) Chief Executive Simon Trott said: “Safety is the foundation of our business. The tragic loss of two colleagues this year, at Simandou and Kennecott, is a stark reminder that we must ensure everyone goes home safely at the end of every shift. “Operating excellence drove 9% YoY copper equivalent1 production growth across our portfolio as the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine continues to ramp up as planned and our integrated aluminium business, again, delivered a strong performance. Our Pilbara iron ore mines performed strongly, while shipments were impacted by two cyclones in the quarter. We achieved the historic land exchange at Resolution Copper, with our project team focused on unlocking the next phase of one of the world’s largest untapped copper deposits. The unmatchable mix and scale of our portfolio has ensured growth and supply chain resilience against changing operating conditions as we continue to closely monitor the evolving situation in the Middle East. Our stronger, sharper, simpler way of working is enabling us to move at pace to achieve productivity benefits across the business. The first $650m of annualised benefits is now fully implemented, as promised, with substantially more underway.”