19th Oct 2005 07:01
Rio Tinto PLC19 October 2005 Rio Tinto's 75.7 per cent owned subsidiary, Coal & Allied Industries Limited,issued the following news release in Australia. All dollars are Australiancurrency. Coal & Allied production report for the quarter ended 30 September 2005 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q Full Year'000 tonnes (100% basis)(a) 2004 2004 2004 2005 2005 2004 Hunter Valley OperationsThermal coal production 2,838 3,340 2,765 2,497 2,429 11,172Semi-soft coking coal production 689 308 570 530 555 2,097 Mount Thorley OperationsThermal coal production 722 817 718 612 836 2,762Semi-soft coking coal production 258 129 268 458 261 785 Bengalla MineThermal coal production 1,737 975 1,430 1,274 1,208 5,312 Warkworth MineThermal coal production 1,381 1,560 1,380 1,335 1,736 5,552Semi-soft coking coal production 479 239 50 145 85 1,403 Total coal production 8,105 7,368 7,181 6,850 7,110 29,083 Total sales ('000 tonnes)(a) 7,931 6,835 7,860 6,564 7,088 28,677 (a) Sales relate only to coal mined by the operations and exclude traded coal. The capacity balancing system at the Port of Newcastle continues to manage therate of presentation of vessels. Mine production aligned with port and railallocation. Production at the Bengalla Mine was below the preceding quarter and the thirdquarter of 2004 due to mining in a less productive region of the mine. At MtThorley/Warkworth Operations, semi-soft and thermal coal production varied as aresult of different coal seams exposed. Planned maintenance at Hunter ValleyOperations impacted production during the quarter. No exploration activity was undertaken during the quarter. Coal & Allied continued work on the feasibility study of the Mount Pleasantdeposit (Coal & Allied 100 per cent). For further information, please contact: LONDON AUSTRALIA Media Relations Media RelationsMaria Darby-Walker Ian HeadOffice: +44 (0) 20 7753 2305 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3620Mobile: +44 (0) 7725 036 544 Mobile: +61 (0) 408 360 101 Investor Relations Investor RelationsNigel Jones Dave SkinnerOffice: +44 (0) 20 7753 2401 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3628Mobile: +44 (0) 7917 227 365 Mobile: +61 (0) 408 335 309David Ovington Susie CreswellOffice: +44 (0) 20 7753 2326 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3639Mobile: +44 (0) 7920 010 978 Mobile: +61 (0) 418 933 792 Website: www.riotinto.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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