The Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) share price is under the spotlight after the miner released its 2024 fourth quarter operational update.
Rio Tinto is one of the biggest miners in the world, with exposure to iron ore, bauxite, aluminium, copper and more.
Rio Tinto 2024 Q4 update
The miner reported how its operations performed in the three months to December 2024 and how much it produced.
For iron ore, it said in Q4 it produced 86mt (down 1% year on year, but up 1% quarter on quarter). The 2024 annual production was 328mt (down 1% year on year).
Rio Tinto said that iron ore productivity improvements (of 10mt) did not fully offset depletion as it transitions to Western Range. Gudai-Darri reached an annual rate of 50mt during 2024.
For bauxite, it produced 15.4mt in Q4 (up 2% year on year). Its annual production of 58.7mt was up 7% year on year. The improvement was supposedly driven by the implementation of the safe production system, delivering record production at Amrun and Gove.
For aluminium, its quarterly production in the 2024 fourth quarter was 837kt (down 1% year on year), while annual production was 3,296kt, up 1% year on year. It saw the ramp-up of Kitimat and completion of cell recovery efforts at Boyne last year, together with increased ownership of Boyne and the New Zealand Aluminium Smelter (NZAS), partially offset by closure program at Arvida and a request to use less energy at NZAS.
For copper, Q4 production was 202kt (up 26% quarter on quarter) and annual production was 697kt, up 13%. There was a ramp-up of Oyu Tolgoi and increased production from Escondida due to higher grades fed to the concentrator.
Management comments
The Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm said:
We are making strong progress in delivering organic growth from our major projects. The Oyu Tolgoi underground copper mine in Mongolia continues to successfully ramp up, while the Simandou high-grade iron ore project in Guinea and our Western Range mine in the Pilbara are on schedule for first production this year.
Significant milestones were achieved at our Rincon project in Argentina during the quarter, with first lithium delivered and receipt of Board approval to expand the operation, demonstrating both our operational capabilities and ambition to grow in battery materials.
We remain focused on executing our strategy to deliver attractive shareholder returns and build a stronger, more diversified, and growing business, driven by our confidence in the long-term demand for materials essential to the global energy transition.
Final thoughts on the Rio Tinto share price
I like the company’s diversification across commodities, I think it would currently be my choice compared to the other large miners.
I don’t think it’s at an amazing price, so I’m not jumping to buy. But, if the iron ore price were to fall significantly, it’d be interesting.
