The Australian-British mining and metallurgical group Rio Tinto summed up the results of the first half of 2024, recording an increase in gold mining and processing, and a continuing decline in diamond production volumes.
The Diavik diamond mine owned by the company produced 740 thousand carats in the first quarter of this year; in the second quarter, production decreased by 5% to 704 thousand carats. Compared to the second quarter of 2023, when 970 thousand carats were mined, the fall in diamond production amounted to 28%.
In addition, in the first half of this year, diamond production fell by a quarter compared to the same period last year. In the first six months of 2023, Dayavik produced 1.924 million carats of rough diamonds, while in the first half of 2024 it decreased 25% to 1.441 million carats.
On the other hand, the transnational corporation notes positive trends in gold mining. While in the first quarter of this year it produced 66.6 thousand ounces of the precious metal, in the second quarter it increased by 1% to 67.1 thousand ounces, compared to a 9% increase over the second quarter of 2023 (61.4 thousand ounces).
In total, 133.6 thousand ounces of gold were produced in the first half of the year. This is 6% higher than the same period last year at 125.7 thousand ounces.
The most successful in this regard is the Oyu Tolgoi gold and copper project in Mongolia, where Rio Tinto owns a 66% stake. According to the results of the first half of the year, production there reached 59.2 thousand ounces. Next comes the company’s gold mine in Bingham Canyon in Utah, west USA, with 49.2 thousand ounces of gold produced in the first half of 2024. The Chilean Escondida mine, where Rio Tinto owns a 30% stake, is in third position. During the first half of the year, 25.3 thousand ounces were mined there.
Things are going much more successfully for the company in terms of gold refining. The Kennecott refinery in Utah produced 75.0 thousand ounces of refined gold in the first half of this year, which is 82% more than 41.2 thousand ounces in the same period of last year.
In the first quarter, 35.3 thousand ounces were processed, in the second - 12% more (39.7 thousand ounces). Compared to the second quarter of 2023 (19.7 thousand ounces of refined gold), the increase in processing volumes was 107%.
Hélène Tarin, Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
