18th Oct 2006 07:00
Rio Tinto PLC18 October 2006 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 2006 CNA 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 9 MTHS 9 MTHS'000 tonnes (100% basis) Interest 2005 2005 2006 2006 2006 2005 2006Hunter Valley Operations 100% Thermal coal production 2,429 2,651 2,386 3,136 2,435 7,690 7,957Semi-soft coking coal production 555 378 419 350 419 1,656 1,188Mount Thorley Operations 80% Thermal coal production 836 529 969 582 494 2,166 2,045Semi-soft coking coal production 261 281 291 325 253 986 869 Bengalla Mine 40% Thermal coal production 1,208 2,053 1,088 1,406 1,618 3,912 4,112Warkworth Mine 55.6 Thermal coal production 1,736 1,495 1,759 1,766 1,803 4,451 5,328Semi-soft coking coal production 85 67 11 96 90 280 197 Total coal production 7,110 7,454 6,923 7,661 7,112 21,141 21,696 Total sales ('000 tonnes)(a) 7,088 7,529 7,306 6,850 7,028 21,512 21,184 Coal & Allied share:Share of coal production 5,357 5,365 5,231 5,809 5,151 16,064 16,191Share of coal sales 5,351 5,573 5,528 5,116 4,997 16,377 15,641 (a) Sales relate only to coal mined by the operations and exclude tradedcoal. Mt Thorley Operations and the Warkworth mine have operated as a singleintegrated operation since 22 January 2004. Production figures are sometimesmore precise than the rounded numbers shown, hence small difference may resultbetween the total of the quarter figures and the full year figures. Total coal production was at similar levels to the corresponding period in 2005and seven per cent lower than the previous quarter. Production across the threesites was aligned with the port and rail allocation. During the quarter, coal producers in the Hunter Valley voted not to continuewith the capacity balancing system in 2007. This will allow the Port ofNewcastle to operate on a take or pay basis and as a result, PWCS customers willnot have their coal handling requirements reduced to match the capacity of thecoal chain. There was no exploration activity during the quarter. For further information, please contact: LONDON AUSTRALIA Media Relations Media RelationsNick Cobban Ian HeadOffice: +44 (0) 20 7753 2305 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3620Mobile: +44 (0) 7920 041 003 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) 408 335 309 David 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.comHigh resolution photographs available at: www.newscast.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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