Rio Tinto¡¯s aluminium production remains unchanged in Q2 2019; alumina production down 6%

Rio Tinto’s aluminium production was 0.8 million tonnes in the second quarter of 2019. Production was in line with the corresponding period of 2018. But production was up one per cent quarter-on-quarter.

Aluminium production stood at 1.59 million tonnes in the first half of 2019, unchanged from the first half of 2018. “Excluding the non-managed Becancour operation, where a lock-out constrained operation, aluminium production in the first half was 1% higher than the corresponding period in 2018, reflecting continued productivity improvement.”

On 2 July 2019, management and unions at the Becancour smelter agreed a new labour arrangement which will lead to restart of production at the end of July, with full ramp-up expected by mid-2020, Rio Tinto said.

“At the Kemano hydro-power facility at Kitimat, British Columbia, the tunnel boring machine has achieved a total of 828 metres excavated as at 30 June 2019. Current progress is slightly behind schedule, but cost forecasts remain on budget.”

2019 guidance is unchanged. Rio Tinto’s expected share of aluminium production in 2019 is between 3.2 and 3.4 million tonnes.

Rio Tinto’s alumina production in Q2 2019 stood at 1.87 million tonnes. Production in the first quarter of 2019 was 6 per cent lower than the same period in 2018. This was due to major maintenance activities at non-managed QAL and the lower bauxite supply from MRN impacting production at Vaudreuil.

Rio Tinto produced 3.88 million tonnes of alumina in the first half of 2019, down 3 per cent from the same period last year.

Alumina production guidance in 2019 is between 8.1 to 8.4 million tonnes.

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