18th Jan 2006 07:08
Rio Tinto PLC18 January 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 31 December 2005 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 12 months 12 months'000 tonnes (100% basis) 2004 2005 2005 2005 2005 2004 2005 Hunter Valley OperationsThermal coal production 3,340 2,765 2,497 2,429 2,651 11,172 10,341Semi-soft coking coal production 308 570 530 555 378 2,097 2,033Mount Thorley Operations Thermal coal production 817 718 612 836 529 2,762 2,695Semi-soft coking coal production 129 268 458 261 281 785 1,267 Bengalla Mine Thermal coal production 975 1,430 1,274 1,208 2,053 5,312 5,965Warkworth Mine Thermal coal production 1,560 1,380 1,335 1,736 1,495 5,552 5,946Semi-soft coking coal production 239 50 145 85 67 1,403 347 Total coal production 7,368 7,181 6,850 7,110 7,452 29,083 28,594 Total sales ('000 tonnes)(a) 6,835 7,860 6,564 7,088 7,529 28,677 29,042 (a) Sales relate only to coal mined by the operations and exclude traded coal. Production figures are sometimes more precise than the rounded numbers shown,hence small differences may result between the total of the quarter figures andthe full year figures. The significant increase in production at Bengalla is the result of mining in anarea with thicker coal seams than those mined in previous quarters. Wet weatherand a dragline shutdown limited production at Mount Thorley/Warkworth during thequarter. Shipments were in line with the allocation set under the Port Waratah CoalServices capacity balancing system. There was no exploration activity during the quarter. 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) 408 335 309 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.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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