In its latest announcement of its Q4 and full-year production figures for 2019, Rio Tinto said that the Q4 diamond production of 2019 at both the Argyle and Diavik mines recorded 8 per cent decrease over that of 2018 production.According to Rio Tinto, these results were due to lower recovered grade at Argyle, which was partially offset by stronger mining and processing rates. At Diavik, the drop was due to lower ore availability and grade from the underground operations. However, this was partly offset by higher tons and grade from the A21 open pit.
At the 100 per cent owned Argyle mine in Australia, production was 5 per cent higher than the same period of 2018. This resulted in a production level of 3.36 million carats for the three-month period ended December 31, 2019. However, these figures were down 5 per cent over Q3 2019.
At the company's 60 per cent Diavik mine in Canada, its share of diamonds recovered during Q4 was down 22 per cent over 2018 to 840,000 carats. Looking forward, Rio Tinto said its production forecast for 2020 is 12 million-14 million carats. This reflects the expected closure of Argyle in the fourth quarter of 2020 and lower grades at Diavik.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished
