The multinational mining giant Rio Tinto has seen record iron ore production in the last quarter of 2010. There was a 6% increase in the quarterly production in the final quarter of the year despite the troubles with Iron Ore Company of Canada.
The low mine equipment availability and the harsh winter in Canada had decreased the ability of the subsidiary to contribute to the iron ore production by 9.3% still the mining company set a record production for the year. Rio Tinto produced 185 million attributable tonnes in 2010 out of an overall 239 million tonnes.
Of the earnings of Rio Tinto, 58 % came on account of iron ore. Production at the Iron Ore Company of Canada also went up by 6.2 % in the whole year. As did the feed stocks for alumina, bauxite, borates, hard coking coal, semi soft coal and titanium dioxide.
Tom Albanese the Chief Executive Officer for Rio Tinto said that running operations at full capacity was a priority for Rio Tinto in 2010 in an environment of strong prices for most commodities. For the year 2010 the project approvals from Rio Tinto totalled to American $10.8 billion worth. Despite ups and downs at individual mines and subsidiaries overall Rio Tinto had a good financial year.