Rio Tinto's Production Hikes in Q1 - Analyst Blog

Mining giant Rio Tinto plc RIO delivered strong production volumes for the first quarter of 2014, recording a year-over-year increase in most of the commodities, with the exception of titanium dioxide feedstock, uranium and semi-soft coking coal.

The company's Pilbara operation is set to reach a level of 290 million tons per annum by the first half of 2014. The operations reported record production and shipments of iron ore in the quarter. Rio Tinto overcame the disruptions caused by cyclone Christine at 2013-end and the recovery of the railway tracks and ports. The company expects to produce roughly 295 million tons of iron ore from its operations in Australia and Canada.

Copper production increased 17% year over year to 156,500 tons in the reported quarter. The company is expected to produce roughly 570,000 tons of mined copper and 260,000 tons of refined copper in 2014.

Bauxite production set a record high of roughly 10 million tons, increasing 5% year over year. Alumina production increased 9% year over year to roughly 2.4 million tons in the reported quarter. Rio Tinto expects to produce 41 million tons, 8 million tons and 3.4 million tons of bauxite, alumina and aluminium, respectively, in 2014.

In April this year, the company announced to gift, its stake in the Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. to two Alaskan charitable foundations

Other Stocks to Consider

With a market capitalization of $105.1 billion, Rio Tinto has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the industry include General Moly, Inc. GMO, Golden Minerals Company AUMN and Platinum Group Metals Ltd. PLG. While General Moly sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Golden Minerals and Platinum Group Metals carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).