19th Jan 2005 07:34
Rio Tinto PLC19 January 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 and Allied production report for the quarter ended 31 December 2004 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 12 months 12 months '000 tonnes (100% basis)(a) 2003 2004 2004 2004 2004 2003 2004 Hunter Valley OperationsThermal coal production 2,620 2,255 2,738 2,838 3,340 9,146 11,172Semi-soft coking coal production 381 371 729 689 308 2,862 2,097 Mount Thorley OperationsThermal coal production 433 514 710 722 817 1,720 2,762Semi-soft coking coal production 377 158 240 258 129 1,432 785 Bengalla MineThermal coal production 2,008 1,075 1,525 1,737 975 6,203 5,312 Warkworth MineThermal coal production 1,371 1,217 1,394 1,381 1,560 5,369 5,552Semi-soft coking coal production 93 237 447 479 239 500 1,403 Total coal production 7,284 5,826 7,784 8,105 7,368 27,232 29,083 Total sales ('000 tonnes)(a) 7,278 6,424 7,486 7,931 6,835 27,887 28,677 (a) Sales relate only to coal mined by the operations and exclude traded coal. Production at Bengalla was lower than in previous quarters as mining progressedthrough an area with a higher strip ratio. Total production from all othermines exceeded the previous quarter and the corresponding period of 2003. Production at Hunter Valley increased slightly during the quarter, assisted bythe use of contractors, to take advantage of market conditions. Sales through the port of Newcastle were lower than the previous quarter due tovessel presentation and port congestion. There was no exploration activity during the quarter. Coal & Allied continued work on the development of the Mount Pleasant deposit(Coal & Allied 100 per cent). For further information, please contact: LONDON AUSTRALIA Media Relations Media RelationsLisa Cullimore Ian HeadOffice: +44 (0) 20 7753 2305 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3620Mobile: +44 (0) 7730 418 385 Mobile: +61 (0) 408 360 101 Investor Relations Investor RelationsPeter Cunningham Dave SkinnerOffice: +44 (0) 20 7753 2401 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3628Mobile: +44 (0) 7711 596 570 Mobile: +61 (0) 408 335 309Richard Brimelow Susie CreswellOffice: +44 (0) 20 7753 2326 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3639Mobile: +44 (0) 7753 783 825 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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