3Q 2004 operations review

Rio Tinto PLC 20 October 2004 Third quarter 2004 operations review Overview • Third quarter production was strong across all the major products. New projects in iron ore (Eastern Range), coking coal (Hail Creek), and diamonds (Diavik) all increased volumes. • There were no significant operational developments in the quarter. • Hamersley produced record volumes of iron ore in what is traditionally the strongest quarter of the year. August shipments through Dampier and Cape Lambert were also at record levels. • The first bauxite was fed into the Comalco Alumina Refinery in the third quarter and continuous alumina production is expected in the fourth quarter of 2004. All figures in this report are US dollars unless otherwise stated IRON ORE Rio Tinto share of production (000 tonnes) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Q3 04 vs Q3 03 vs Q2 04 9 Mths 04 vs 9 Mths 03 Hamersley 19,813 +12% +7% 54,060 +7% Robe River 6,828 +22% -4% 19,384 +12% IOC 315 -86% -86% 4,483 -27% _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Demand remained strong across the full product range, with most markets showing continued strength. New long-term agreements were finalised with Sumitomo Metal Industries securing ten million tonnes per annum of iron ore sales from Hamersley and Robe over a ten year period, commencing in 2005. This, together with other long term arrangements announced in the first half of the year, further underpins the current expansion programme due for completion at the end of 2005. Australian operations achieved record production this quarter. Although less than anticipated, this was consistent with the traditional strength of third quarter performance. Shipments also reached record levels at both Dampier and Cape Lambert in August. Hamersley Hamersley's production in the third quarter reflects the commissioning of the Eastern Range mine and the completion of the first stage of expansion work at Yandicoogina. Robe River Increased production and sales from West Angelas were in line with the expansion programme. Production from Pannawonica was affected by planned maintenance, but strong sales volumes underlined the recovery from the effects of tropical cyclone Monty. Iron Ore Company of Canada Output was severely curtailed at IOC due to industrial action for most of the third quarter. Operations recommenced on a staged basis late in September, with ramp up to normal levels expected early in the fourth quarter. ENERGY US Thermal Coal Rio Tinto share of production (000 tonnes) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Q3 04 vs Q3 03 vs Q2 04 9 Mths 04 vs 9 Mths 03 Kennecott Energy 30,398 +11% +5% 86,662 +9% ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume increases largely reflect higher output from the Jacob's Ranch mine and strong demand for the higher energy coals of Colowyo and Spring Creek. Australian Coal Rio Tinto share of production (000 tonnes) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Q3 04 vs Q3 03 vs Q2 04 9 Mths 04 vs 9 Mths 03 Rio Tinto Coal Australia Hard coking coal 2,070 +287% -1% 5,371 +295% Other coal 4,230 -6% +2% 12,346 0% _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Coal & Allied Other coal 4,573 +28% +3% 12,342 +9% _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Other coal includes thermal, semi-soft and semi-hard coking coal Rio Tinto Coal Australia Production from the new Hail Creek coking coal mine continued to ramp-up. Third quarter shipments were above the initial capacity rate of 5.5 million tonnes per year and a capacity expansion to eight million tonnes per year by 2006 was approved by the joint venture in July 2004. The proportion of hard coking coal from the Kestrel mine has increased in 2004, since mining has commenced in the new 300 series area. Blair Athol production was in line with the previous three quarters. Coal & Allied Third quarter production from all mines was above both the second quarter of 2004 and the corresponding period of 2003. INDUSTRIAL MINERALS Rio Tinto share of production (000 tonnes) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Q3 04 vs Q3 03 vs Q2 04 9 Mths 04 vs 9 Mths 03 Borates 153 +8% +9% 428 +1% Titanium dioxide feedstock 296 +2% +2% 873 -3% _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Production of borates reflects some improvement in end use markets. Demand for boric acid remains strong. Although production at Richards Bay Minerals was interrupted in September due to a furnace run-out, titanium dioxide feedstock sales volumes will not be affected. Demand for Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium's iron, steel, rutile and zircon co-products remained strong. ALUMINIUM Rio Tinto share of production (000 tonnes) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Q3 04 vs Q3 03 vs Q2 04 9 Mths 04 vs 9 Mths 03 Rio Tinto Aluminium Bauxite 3,157 +5% -5% 9,496 +3% Alumina 530 +6% +2% 1,560 +5% Aluminium 210.4 +3% +2% 627.4 +4% _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Production was strong at all smelters and refineries. Eurallumina refinery production was a quarterly record while production at Queensland Alumina Limited refinery was also above the second quarter of 2004 and the corresponding period of 2003. Bauxite production has increased in 2004, in anticipation of the commissioning of the Comalco Alumina Refinery. The new refinery remains on track for continuous production in the fourth quarter of 2004. COPPER Rio Tinto share of production _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Q3 04 vs Q3 03 vs Q2 04 9 Mths 04 vs 9 Mths 03 Kennecott Utah Copper Mined copper (000 tonnes) 63.3 -18% -1% 189.8 -10% Refined copper (000 tonnes) 63.1 -3% +2% 185.2 +8% Mined gold (000 ozs) 77 -13% +23% 216 -11% Refined gold (000 ozs) 74 +12% -4% 232 +2% _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Escondida Mined copper (000 tonnes) 87.5 +19% -12% 270.3 +19% _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Grasberg JV Mined copper (000 tonnes) 9.2 -68% -1% 24.0 -75% Mined gold (000 ozs) 22 -90% +17% 48 -92% _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Kennecott Utah Copper Third quarter and year to date mined copper production at Kennecott Utah Copper was below the corresponding periods of 2003, reflecting lower copper grades. By-product production volumes have been affected by poor mineralogy for about two years, but gold and molybdenum grades improved in the third quarter. Escondida Third quarter copper production from Escondida reflected lower copper grades due to mine sequencing. Production in the first nine months reflects the return to the normal mine plan from the beginning of the year and the ramp up of the Laguna Seca throughput. Grasberg Production from the Grasberg mine continued to ramp-up. Mining rates are gradually improving as bench development in the higher grade areas enables more efficient ore access. Rio Tinto's share of production is based on a preliminary allocation of volumes between the joint venture partners, Rio Tinto and Freeport McMoRan. Other copper operations Copper production from the Palabora underground mine has improved, due to higher volumes hoisted and improved grades, but remains below design capacity. Production from the new Lift 2 at Northparkes commenced in the quarter. DIAMONDS Rio Tinto share of production (000 carats) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Q3 04 vs Q3 03 vs Q2 04 9 Mths 04 vs 9 Mths 03 Argyle 5,328 -45% +100% 11,610 -49% Diavik 1,358 +54% 0% 3,644 +122% _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Argyle Although still affected by tight mining conditions, output from the Argyle open pit began to improve in the third quarter. Ore processed continued to consist of lower grade ore from the open pit supplemented by ore from stockpiles. Diavik Diavik continued to perform well. The process plant comfortably exceeded design capacity on a consistent basis. Murowa First diamonds were recovered from the small scale operation at Murowa. EXPLORATION AND EVALUATION Total pre-tax expenditure on exploration charged to the profit and loss account up to the end of the third quarter of 2004 was $126 million compared with $97 million in 2003. Exploration drilling continued on copper targets in Peru, Chile, Mexico, and Alaska. Diamond exploration continued in India, Canada, Botswana, South Africa and Brazil. Iron ore exploration continued in the Hamersley Basin (Western Australia) and the order of magnitude study for Simandou (iron ore, Guinea) was completed and the project handed over to Rio Tinto Iron Ore. Bauxite, coking coal, and nickel exploration was carried out in a number of regions. Evaluation work continued at Eagle (nickel/copper, US), Sari Gunay (gold, Iran), Resolution (copper/gold, US) and at Potasio Rio Colorado (potash, Argentina) where pilot solution mining began in the third quarter. An agreement for the sale of a copper resource at Marcona in Peru to Chariot Resources was signed on 6 August 2004. The sale is expected to be completed by early 2005. ASSET DISPOSALS The restructuring of Rio Tinto Zimbabwe, as a result of which Rio Tinto will hold its interest in the Murowa diamond project directly but cease to be an ordinary shareholder of Rio Tinto Zimbabwe, was completed on 8 July 2004. For further information, please contact: LONDON AUSTRALIA Media Relations Media Relations Lisa Cullimore Ian Head Office: +44 (0) 20 7753 2305 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3620 Mobile: +44 (0) 7730 418 385 Mobile: +61 (0) 408 360 101 Investor Relations Investor Relations Peter Cunningham Dave Skinner Office: +44 (0) 20 7753 2401 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3628 Mobile: +44 (0) 7711 596 570 Mobile: +61 (0) 408 335 309 Richard Brimelow Susie Creswell Office: +44 (0) 20 7753 2326 Office: +61 (0) 3 9283 3639 Mobile: +44 (0) 7753 783 825 Mobile: +61 (0) 418 933 792 Website: www.riotinto.com RIO TINTO PRODUCTION SUMMARY RIO TINTO SHARE OF PRODUCTION ____________________________ _________________ __________________________ QUARTER NINE MONTHS % CHANGE ____________________________ _________________ __________________________ 2003 2004 2004 2003 2004 Q3 04 Q3 04 9 Mths 04 Q3 Q2 Q3 vs vs vs Principal Commodities Q2 04 Q3 03 9 Mths 03 ____________________________ _________________ __________________________ Alumina ('000 t) 500 517 530 1,488 1,560 2% 6% 5% Aluminium ('000 t) 204.9 207.0 210.4 606.2 627.4 2% 3% 4% Borates ('000 t) 142 141 153 425 428 9% 8% 1% Coal - hard coking coal ('000 t) 535 2,101 2,070 1,361 5,371 -1% 287% 295% Coal - other Australian/ ('000 t) 9,784 8,597 8,803 29,883 24,688 2% -10% -17% Indonesian Coal - US ('000 t) 27,391 28,861 30,398 79,759 86,662 5% 11% 9% Copper - mined ('000 t) 221.4 193.4 174.7 684.1 548.2 -10% -21% -20% Copper - refined ('000 t) 93.7 81.6 82.5 258.9 251.5 1% -12% -3% Diamonds ('000 cts) 10,588 4,033 6,688 24,304 15,255 66% -37% -37% Gold - mined ('000 ozs) 691 376 366 2,221 1,123 -3% -47% -49% Gold - refined ('000 ozs) 66 77 74 227 232 -4% 12% 2% Iron ore ('000 t) 25,826 28,048 27,307 74,616 78,854 -3% 6% 6% Titanium dioxide feedstock ('000 t) 291 291 296 899 873 2% 2% -3% ____________________________ _________________ __________________________ Other Metals & Minerals ____________________________ _________________ __________________________ Bauxite ('000 t) 3,018 3,331 3,157 9,213 9,496 -5% 5% 3% Lead - mined ('000 t) 12.0 8.1 3.4 33.4 21.8 -58% -72% -35% Molybdenum ('000 t) 1.2 0.9 1.5 3.5 4.0 57% 21% 14% Nickel - refined (tonnes) 1,029 648 - 2,463 1,619 - - -34% Salt ('000 t) 1,420 1,257 1,271 3,513 3,661 1% -10% 4% Silver - mined ('000 ozs) 4,983 3,465 3,569 13,353 10,799 3% -28% -19% Silver - refined ('000 ozs) 691 768 854 2,310 2,400 11% 24% 4% Talc ('000 t) 350 361 371 1,036 1,088 3% 6% 5% Tin (tonnes) 16 38 - 39 59 - - 49% Uranium (tonnes) 1,395 1,357 1,610 3,752 4,399 19% 15% 17% Zinc - mined ('000 t) 26.8 21.5 10.7 82.6 62.1 -50% -60% -25% ____________________________ _________________ __________________________ Throughout this report, figures in italics indicate adjustments made since the figure was previously quoted on the equivalent page. Production figures are sometimes more precise than the rounded numbers shown, hence small differences may result between the total of the quarter figures and the nine month figures. RIO TINTO SHARE OF PRODUCTION Rio Tinto 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 9 MTHS 9 MTHS interest 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2003 2004 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ALUMINA Production ('000 tonnes) Eurallumina 56% 150 148 145 144 155 426 444 Queensland Alumina 39% 350 378 368 373 375 1,062 1,116 ______________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto total alumina production 500 526 514 517 530 1,488 1,560 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ALUMINIUM Refined production ('000 tonnes) Anglesey 51% 18.3 19.0 18.3 18.2 18.9 54.9 55.4 Bell Bay 100% 42.3 41.9 41.8 40.8 38.2 124.8 120.9 Boyne Island 59% 76.9 80.9 80.5 79.7 82.0 230.2 242.2 Tiwai Point 79% 67.5 70.2 69.5 68.3 71.2 196.3 209.0 ______________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto total aluminium production 204.9 211.9 210.1 207.0 210.4 606.2 627.4 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ BAUXITE Production ('000 tonnes) Boke (a) 0% 123 58 121 58 - 360 179 Weipa 100% 2,895 3,045 2,887 3,273 3,157 8,853 9,317 ______________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto total bauxite production 3,018 3,103 3,008 3,331 3,157 9,213 9,496 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ BORATES Borates ('000 tonnes B2O3 content) Rio Tinto total borate production 100% 142 134 134 141 153 425 428 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ COAL - HARD COKING Rio Tinto Coal Australia (b) ('000 tonnes) Hail Creek Coal 92% 204 608 831 1,325 1,376 204 3,532 Kestrel Coal 80% 332 342 369 776 693 1,157 1,838 ______________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto total hard coking coal production 535 950 1,200 2,101 2,070 1,361 5,371 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ COAL - OTHER * Australian coal operations ('000 tonnes) Coal & Allied Industries Bengalla 30% 340 608 325 462 526 1,271 1,313 Hunter Valley Operations 76% 2,198 2,272 1,988 2,625 2,671 6,819 7,284 Mount Thorley Operations 61% 475 491 407 576 593 1,419 1,576 Warkworth 42% 563 616 612 774 783 1,853 2,169 Rio Tinto Coal Australia (b) Blair Athol Coal 71% 2,599 2,197 2,180 2,206 2,169 6,693 6,555 Kestrel Coal 80% 263 292 98 167 173 867 438 Tarong Coal 100% 1,635 1,713 1,678 1,787 1,888 4,825 5,352 ______________________________________________________________ Total Australian other coal 8,073 8,189 7,287 8,597 8,803 23,746 24,688 ______________________________________________________________ Indonesian coal operations ('000 tonnes) Kaltim Prima Coal (c) 0% 1,711 191 - - - 6,137 - US coal operations ('000 tonnes) Kennecott Energy Antelope 100% 7,130 6,795 5,919 6,628 7,152 20,011 19,699 Colowyo (d) 1,093 1,138 1,467 1,415 1,494 3,396 4,376 Cordero Rojo 100% 7,448 8,501 8,589 8,263 9,023 24,170 25,874 Decker 50% 1,068 1,203 514 1,062 1,104 2,476 2,680 Jacobs Ranch 100% 8,767 8,706 8,649 8,705 8,833 23,712 26,187 Spring Creek 100% 1,887 2,074 2,265 2,789 2,791 5,995 7,845 ______________________________________________________________ Total US coal 27,391 28,417 27,403 28,861 30,398 79,759 86,662 ______________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto total other coal production 37,175 36,797 34,690 37,459 39,201 109,642 111,350 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Mine production figures for metals refer to the total quantity of metal produced in concentrates or dore bullion irrespective of whether these products are then refined on-site. * Coal - other includes thermal coal, semi-soft coking coal and semi-hard coking coal. See footnotes on page 11. RIO TINTO SHARE OF PRODUCTION (continued) Rio Tinto 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 9 MTHS 9 MTHS interest 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2003 2004 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ COPPER Mine production ('000 tonnes) Alumbrera (e) 0% - - - - - 8.7 - Bingham Canyon 100% 77.6 71.6 62.5 64.0 63.3 210.2 189.8 Escondida 30% 73.4 70.1 83.8 99.1 87.5 227.7 270.3 Grasberg - FCX (f) 0% 21.5 7.7 5.5 - - 76.8 5.5 Grasberg - Joint Venture (f) 40% 28.9 11.5 5.5 9.3 9.2 97.2 24.0 Neves Corvo (g) 0% 7.5 9.6 11.6 11.4 - 28.4 23.0 Northparkes 80% 5.4 5.2 5.8 4.7 6.0 16.5 16.6 Palabora 49% 7.0 7.1 5.2 4.9 8.7 18.7 18.9 ___________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto total mine production 221.4 182.9 180.0 193.4 174.7 684.1 548.2 ___________________________________________________________ Refined production ('000 tonnes) Atlantic Copper (f) 0% 9.2 8.6 7.0 - - 29.6 7.0 Escondida 30% 11.2 11.4 11.3 11.4 11.4 32.9 34.1 Kennecott Utah Copper 100% 64.8 59.9 60.3 61.7 63.1 170.7 185.2 Palabora 49% 8.5 10.3 8.8 8.5 8.0 25.8 25.3 ___________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto total refined production 93.7 90.2 87.4 81.6 82.5 258.9 251.5 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ DIAMONDS Production ('000 carats) Argyle 100% 9,690 8,307 3,612 2,669 5,328 22,603 11,610 Diavik 60% 880 661 922 1,364 1,358 1,639 3,644 Merlin 100% 18 - - - - 62 - Murowa (h) 78% - - - - 2 - 2 ___________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto total diamond production 10,588 8,968 4,534 4,033 6,688 24,304 15,255 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ GOLD Mine production ('000 ounces) Alumbrera (e) 0% - - - - - 31 - Barneys Canyon 100% 10 6 7 4 5 29 16 Bingham Canyon 100% 79 92 69 59 72 213 200 Cortez/Pipeline 40% 100 106 113 115 105 329 334 Escondida 30% 16 16 18 16 16 40 50 Grasberg - FCX (f) 0% 107 26 14 - - 327 14 Grasberg - Joint Venture (f) 40% 223 96 6 19 22 626 48 Greens Creek 70% 17 17 16 16 15 53 46 Kelian 90% 71 74 69 73 64 349 205 Lihir (i) 14% 21 25 16 24 E 22 64 E 62 Morro do Ouro 51% 24 26 25 23 24 77 73 Northparkes 80% 9 15 17 15 14 24 45 Peak (e) 0% - - - - - 20 - Rawhide 51% 9 8 7 7 6 25 19 Rio Tinto Zimbabwe (j) 0% 3 3 3 3 - 11 6 Others - 2 2 2 2 1 5 5 ___________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto total mine production 691 511 381 376 366 2,221 1,123 ___________________________________________________________ Refined production ('000 ounces) Kennecott Utah Copper 100% 66 81 81 77 74 227 232 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ IRON ORE Production ('000 tonnes) Channar 60% 1,628 1,417 1,404 1,516 1,623 4,792 4,543 Corumba 100% 292 279 268 306 352 795 926 Eastern Range (k) - - 3 645 1,050 - 1,698 Hamersley 100% 16,079 17,462 14,407 16,273 17,140 45,595 47,819 Iron Ore Company of Canada (l) 59% 2,220 2,191 1,969 2,199 315 6,161 4,483 Robe River 53% 5,607 6,649 5,447 7,110 6,828 17,273 19,384 ___________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto total mine production 25,826 27,997 23,499 28,048 27,307 74,616 78,854 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Mine production figures for metals refer to the total quantity of metal produced in concentrates or dore bullion irrespective of whether these products are then refined on-site, except for the data for iron ore which represent production of saleable quantities of ore plus pellets. See footnotes on page 11. E = Estimated number. RIO TINTO SHARE OF PRODUCTION (continued) Rio Tinto 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 9 MTHS 9 MTHS interest 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2003 2004 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ LEAD Mine production ('000 tonnes) Greens Creek 70% 4.0 4.1 3.3 3.9 3.4 11.7 10.6 Zinkgruvan (m) 0% 8.0 10.1 7.0 4.2 - 21.7 11.2 ___________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto total mine production 12.0 14.2 10.3 8.1 3.4 33.4 21.8 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ MOLYBDENUM Mine production ('000 tonnes) Bingham Canyon 100% 1.2 1.1 1.6 0.9 1.5 3.5 4.0 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ NICKEL Nickel in matte (tonnes) Fortaleza (n) 0% 1,284 1,524 - - - 4,426 - Toll refined metal production (tonnes) Rio Tinto Zimbabwe - Empress (j) 0% 1,029 1,011 971 648 - 2,463 1,619 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ SALT Production ('000 tonnes) Dampier Salt 65% 1,420 1,120 1,133 1,257 1,271 3,513 3,661 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ SILVER Mine production ('000 ounces) Bingham Canyon 100% 873 1,105 730 785 947 2,443 2,462 Escondida 30% 375 368 411 482 404 1,050 1,297 Grasberg - FCX (f) 0% 207 46 79 - - 698 79 Grasberg - Joint Venture (f) 40% 320 466 13 53 135 660 201 Greens Creek 70% 2,472 2,035 1,761 1,584 1,813 6,191 5,157 Zinkgruvan (m) 0% 460 571 426 225 - 1,270 651 Others - 275 366 346 336 270 1,041 952 ____________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto total mine production 4,983 4,959 3,766 3,465 3,569 13,353 10,799 ____________________________________________________________ Refined production ('000 ounces) Kennecott Utah Copper 100% 691 653 778 768 854 2,310 2,400 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ TALC Production ('000 tonnes) Luzenac Group 99.9% 350 321 356 361 371 1,036 1,088 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ TIN Mine production (tonnes) Neves Corvo (g) 0% 16 60 21 38 - 39 59 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ TITANIUM DIOXIDE FEEDSTOCK Production ('000 tonnes) Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium 100% 291 293 287 291 296 899 873 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ URANIUM Production (tonnes U3O8) Energy Resources of Australia 68% 775 858 809 751 931 2,653 2,492 Rossing 69% 620 548 622 607 679 1,099 1,907 ____________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto total uranium production 1,395 1,406 1,431 1,357 1,610 3,752 4,399 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ZINC Mine production ('000 tonnes) Greens Creek 70% 11.7 11.3 10.7 11.0 10.7 37.2 32.4 Zinkgruvan (m) 0% 15.1 19.1 19.2 10.5 - 45.4 29.7 ____________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto total mine production 26.8 30.4 29.9 21.5 10.7 82.6 62.1 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Mine production figures for metals refer to the total quantity of metal produced in concentrates or dore bullion irrespective of whether these products are then refined on-site. The nickel in matte production reflects the contained tonnage of nickel. See footnotes on page 11. RIO TINTO SHARE OF PRODUCTION (continued) Production data notes (a) Rio Tinto completed the sale of its 4.0% interest in the Boke mine on 25 June 2004. Production data are shown up to the date of sale. (b) Rio Tinto Coal Australia was previously known as Pacific Coal. (c) Rio Tinto had a 50% share in Kaltim Prima and, under the terms of its Coal Agreement, the Indonesian Government was entitled to a 13.5% share of Kaltim Prima's production. Rio Tinto's share of production shown is before deduction of the Government share. Rio Tinto completed the sale of its interest in PT Kaltim Prima Coal on 10 October 2003. Production data are shown up to the date of sale. (d) Kennecott Energy has a partnership interest in the Colowyo mine but, as it is responsible under a management agreement for the operation of the mine, all of Colowyo's output is included in Rio Tinto's share of production. (e) Rio Tinto completed the sale of its 25% interest in Minera Alumbrera together with its wholly owned Peak Gold Mine on 17 March 2003. Production data are shown up to the date of sale. (f) From mid 1995 until 30 March 2004, Rio Tinto held 23.93 million shares of Freeport-McMoRan-Copper & Gold (FCX) common stock from which it derived a share of production. This interest was sold to FCX on 30 March 2004. Also, through a joint venture agreement with FCX, Rio Tinto is entitled, as shown separately in the above tables, to 40% of additional material mined as a consequence of expansions and developments of the Grasberg facilities since 1998. (g) Rio Tinto completed the sale of its 49% interest in Somincor on 18 June 2004. Production data are shown up to the date of sale. (h) Ore mining and processing commenced during the third quarter of 2004. (i) Following a placement of shares on 13 November 2003, and a subsequent allotment of shares under a Share Purchase Plan on 23 January 2004, Rio Tinto's interest in Lihir changed from 16.3% to 14.4%. Rio Tinto's share of gold production includes an estimate of the production from the Lihir gold mine for the third quarter of 2004. The actual third quarter production, which may be different from the figure in this report, will be announced by Lihir Gold Ltd on 25 October 2004. The estimate in this report is based on one quarter of the indicative full year 2004 production of 600,000 oz previously disclosed in the Managing Director's report to the Lihir Gold Ltd AGM (27 April 2004). (j) As a result of the corporate restructuring completed on 8 July 2004, Rio Tinto has ceased to be an ordinary shareholder in the renamed RioZim but will retain a reduced cash participation in its gold and nickel assets for a period of ten years. (k) Rio Tinto's share of production includes 100% of the production from the Eastern Range mine, which commenced production in March 2004. Under the terms of the joint venture agreement, Hamersley Iron manages the operation and is obliged to purchase all mine production from the joint venture. (l) Rio Tinto owns 19% of the Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Income Fund. The Fund has a shareholding in Iron Ore Company of Canada but this has not been included in the calculation of tonnage attributable to Rio Tinto. (m) Rio Tinto completed the sale of its 100% interest in the Zinkgruvan mine on 2 June 2004. Production data are shown up to the date of sale. (n) Rio Tinto completed the sale of its 100% interest in the Fortaleza nickel mine on 16 January 2004. The sale was effective from 1 January 2004. Where Rio Tinto's beneficial interest in an operation has changed, as indicated above, the share of production has been calculated using the weighted average interest over the relevant periods. Rio Tinto percentage interest shown above is at 30 September 2004. RIO TINTO OPERATIONAL DATA Rio Tinto 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 9 MTHS 9 MTHS interest 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2003 2004 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ALUMINIUM Rio Tinto Aluminium Weipa mine 100.0% Queensland, Australia Beneficiated bauxite production ('000 2,895 3,045 2,887 3,273 3,157 8,853 9,317 tonnes) Metal grade bauxite shipments ('000 tonnes) 2,709 3,160 2,981 2,861 3,213 8,255 9,056 Calcined bauxite production ('000 tonnes) 42 29 44 36 45 132 125 Boke mine (a) 0.0% Guinea Bauxite production ('000 tonnes) 2,970 3,648 2,812 2,961 - 8,412 5,773 Eurallumina refinery 56.2% Sardinia, Italy Alumina production ('000 tonnes) 267 263 258 256 275 758 790 Queensland Alumina refinery 38.6% Queensland, Australia Alumina production ('000 tonnes) 906 980 954 966 971 2,750 2,891 Anglesey Aluminium smelter 51.0% United Kingdom Primary aluminium production ('000 tonnes) 35.9 37.2 35.9 35.6 37.2 107.6 108.6 Bell Bay smelter 100.0% Tasmania, Australia Primary aluminium production ('000 tonnes) 42.3 41.9 41.8 40.8 38.2 124.8 120.9 Boyne Island smelter 59.4% Queensland, Australia Primary aluminium production ('000 tonnes) 128.5 133.8 134.7 134.3 135.8 387.1 404.8 Tiwai Point smelter 79.4% New Zealand Primary aluminium production ('000 tonnes) 85.0 87.9 87.1 86.0 88.7 246.6 261.7 Rio Tinto Aluminium share Share of primary aluminium sales ('000 205.1 213.1 203.5 218.5 208.5 606.9 630.5 tonnes) (a) Rio Tinto completed the sale of its 4.0% interest in the Boke mine on 25 June 2004. Production data are shown up to the date of sale. BORATES Rio Tinto Borax 100.0% California, US and Argentina Borates ('000 tonnes) (a) 142 134 134 141 153 425 428 (a) Production is expressed as B2O3 content. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto percentage interest shown above is at 30 September 2004. The data represent full production and sales on a 100% basis unless otherwise stated. RIO TINTO OPERATIONAL DATA Rio Tinto 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 9 MTHS 9 MTHS interest 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2003 2004 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ COAL Coal & Allied Industries Limited Bengalla mine 30.3% New South Wales, Australia Thermal coal production ('000 tonnes) 1,122 2,008 1,075 1,525 1,737 4,196 4,337 Hunter Valley Operations 75.7% New South Wales, Australia Thermal coal production ('000 tonnes) 2,028 2,620 2,255 2,738 2,838 6,526 7,831 Semi-soft coking coal production ('000 875 381 371 729 689 2,480 1,790 tonnes) Mount Thorley Operations 60.6% New South Wales, Australia Thermal coal production ('000 tonnes) 416 433 514 710 722 1,287 1,946 Semi-soft coking coal production ('000 369 377 158 240 258 1,055 656 tonnes) Warkworth mine 42.1% New South Wales, Australia Thermal coal production ('000 tonnes) 1,212 1,371 1,217 1,394 1,381 3,997 3,992 Semi-soft coking coal production ('000 127 93 237 447 479 406 1,163 tonnes) ______________________________________________________________ Total coal production ('000 tonnes) 6,147 7,284 5,826 7,784 8,105 19,948 21,715 ______________________________________________________________ Total coal sales ('000 tonnes) (a) 6,802 7,278 6,424 7,486 7,931 20,609 21,841 Coal & Allied Industries share ______________________________________________________________ Share of coal production ('000 tonnes) 4,723 5,266 4,401 5,861 6,040 15,006 16,302 ______________________________________________________________ Share of coal sales ('000 tonnes) (a) 5,178 5,456 4,776 5,669 6,002 15,629 16,446 ______________________________________________________________ (a) Sales relate only to coal mined by the operations and exclude traded coal. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Kaltim Prima Coal (a) Indonesia 0.0% Thermal coal: Production ('000 tonnes) 3,422 381 - - - 12,274 - Shipments ('000 tonnes) 4,042 309 - - - 12,501 - (a) Rio Tinto completed the sale of its 50% interest in PT Kaltim Prima Coal on 10 October 2003. Production data are shown up to the date of sale. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Kennecott Energy and Coal Company Antelope mine 100.0% Wyoming, US Thermal coal production ('000 tonnes) 7,130 6,795 5,919 6,628 7,152 20,011 19,699 Colowyo mine (a) Colorado, US Thermal coal production ('000 tonnes) 1,093 1,138 1,467 1,415 1,494 3,396 4,376 Cordero Rojo mine 100.0% Wyoming, US Thermal coal production ('000 tonnes) 7,448 8,501 8,589 8,263 9,023 24,170 25,874 Decker mine 50.0% Montana, US Thermal coal production ('000 tonnes) 2,135 2,406 1,028 2,123 2,209 4,952 5,360 Jacobs Ranch mine 100.0% Wyoming, US Thermal coal production ('000 tonnes) 8,767 8,706 8,649 8,705 8,833 23,712 26,187 Spring Creek mine 100.0% Montana, US Thermal coal production ('000 tonnes) 1,887 2,074 2,265 2,789 2,791 5,995 7,845 Total coal production ('000 tonnes) 28,459 29,620 27,917 29,923 31,503 82,236 89,342 ______________________________________________________________ Total coal sales ('000 tonnes) 28,459 29,620 27,917 29,923 31,503 82,236 89,342 ______________________________________________________________ (a) Kennecott Energy has a partnership interest in the Colowyo mine but, as it is responsible under a management agreement for the operation of the mine, all of Colowyo's output is included in Rio Tinto's share of production. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto percentage interest shown above is at 30 September 2004. The data represent full production and sales on a 100% basis unless otherwise stated. RIO TINTO OPERATIONAL DATA Rio Tinto 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 9 MTHS 9 MTHS interest 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2003 2004 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ COAL (continued) Rio Tinto Coal Australia (a) Blair Athol Coal mine 71.2% Queensland, Australia Thermal coal: Production ('000 tonnes) 3,649 3,084 3,060 3,097 3,045 9,396 9,202 Sales ('000 tonnes) 3,179 3,473 2,867 3,218 3,198 9,105 9,283 Hail Creek Coal mine 92.0% Queensland, Australia Coking coal: Production ('000 tonnes) 221 661 903 1,441 1,496 221 3,840 Sales ('000 tonnes) 114 622 890 1,069 1,389 114 3,348 Kestrel Coal mine 80.0% Queensland, Australia Thermal coal: Production ('000 tonnes) 328 365 122 209 216 1,084 548 Sales ('000 tonnes) 145 177 - - - 712 - Coking coal: Production ('000 tonnes) 415 427 462 970 867 1,446 2,298 Sales ('000 tonnes) 331 357 409 536 837 727 1,782 Semi-hard coking coal:(b) Sales ('000 tonnes) 353 461 225 258 300 1,277 784 Tarong Coal mine 100.0% Queensland, Australia Thermal coal: Production ('000 tonnes) 1,635 1,713 1,678 1,787 1,888 4,825 5,352 Sales ('000 tonnes) 1,623 1,749 1,744 1,781 1,819 4,871 5,345 Total coal production ('000 tonnes) 6,248 6,250 6,225 7,503 7,512 16,972 21,240 ______________________________________________________________ Total coal sales ('000 tonnes) 5,746 6,839 6,135 6,863 7,544 16,807 20,543 Rio Tinto Coal Australia share ______________________________________________________________ Share of coal production ('000 tonnes) 5,033 5,152 5,156 6,261 6,300 13,746 17,717 ______________________________________________________________ Share of coal sales ('000 tonnes) 4,656 5,591 5,113 5,693 6,286 13,636 17,092 ______________________________________________________________ (a) Rio Tinto Coal Australia was previously known as Pacific Coal. (b) Semi-hard coking coal is a mixture of thermal coal and coking coal. The product mix is customer dependent. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ COPPER & GOLD Alumbrera (a) 0.0% Argentina Ore treated ('000 tonnes) - - - - - 7,053 - Average ore grades: Copper (%) - - - - - 0.54 - Gold (g/t) - - - - - 0.69 - Concentrates produced ('000 tonnes) - - - - - 130.9 - Copper in concentrates: Production ('000 tonnes) - - - - - 34.9 - Sales ('000 tonnes) - - - - - 37.0 - Production of gold in concentrates ('000 - - - - - 108 - ounces) Production of gold in dore ('000 ounces) - - - - - 16 - Total gold sales ('000 ounces) - - - - - 132 - (a) Rio Tinto completed the sale of its 25% holding in Minera Alumbrera on 17 March 2003. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto percentage interest shown above is at 30 September 2004. The data represent full production and sales on a 100% basis unless otherwise stated. RIO TINTO OPERATIONAL DATA Rio Tinto 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 9 MTHS 9 MTHS interest 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2003 2004 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ COPPER & GOLD (continued) Escondida 30.0% Chile Sulphide ore treated ('000 tonnes) 18,888 18,299 19,619 21,197 20,637 52,048 61,453 Average copper grade (%) 1.33 1.31 1.48 1.61 1.47 1.47 1.52 Mill production (metals in concentrates): Contained copper ('000 tonnes) 208.2 197.1 239.6 284.2 256.8 649.9 780.5 Contained gold ('000 ounces) 52 52 58 55 53 132 166 Contained silver ('000 ounces) 1,251 1,227 1,370 1,606 1,347 3,501 4,323 Oxide ore treated ('000 tonnes) 3,569 3,537 3,179 4,186 3,996 10,165 11,361 Average copper grade (%) 1.02 1.03 1.25 1.10 0.87 1.07 1.06 Contained copper in leachate/mined material ('000 37 37 40 46 35 109 121 tonnes) Refined production: Oxide plant production ('000 tonnes) 37.3 38.0 37.7 37.9 38.0 109.6 113.6 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (a) Grasberg mine 0.0% (40.0% of the expansion) Papua, Indonesia Ore treated ('000 tonnes) 19,453 13,071 13,817 14,946 17,845 61,032 46,608 Average mill head grades: Copper (%) 1.08 0.77 0.50 0.82 0.83 1.16 0.73 Gold (g/t) 1.79 1.00 0.41 0.95 0.79 1.66 0.73 Silver (g/t) 3.90 4.26 3.09 4.01 3.74 3.98 3.63 Production of metals in concentrates: Copper in concentrates ('000 tonnes) 189.3 86.9 55.9 107.7 129.7 628.9 293.2 Gold in concentrates ('000 ounces) 1,007 369 135 395 370 2,893 901 Silver in concentrates ('000 ounces) 1,857 981 740 1,143 1,199 5,493 3,081 Sales of payable metals in concentrates: (b) Copper in concentrates ('000 tonnes) 184.7 85.5 53.0 101.7 127.9 607.5 282.5 Gold in concentrates ('000 ounces) 980 369 130 370 372 2,803 872 Silver in concentrates ('000 ounces) 1,431 763 563 862 943 4,231 2,367 (a) See note (f) on page 11 concerning Rio Tinto's previous direct interest in Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold and its continuing 40% interest in the expansion of Grasberg. (b) Net of smelter deductions. Atlantic Copper smelter 0.0% Spain Concentrates and scrap smelted ('000 tonnes) 253.0 224.7 187.1 - - 739.7 187.1 Copper anodes produced ('000 tonnes) (c) 78.6 65.0 57.5 - - 225.3 57.5 Copper cathodes produced ('000 tonnes) 61.4 62.0 58.4 - - 185.1 58.4 Copper cathode sales ('000 tonnes) (d) 57.7 63.8 50.8 - - 184.2 50.8 (c) New metal excluding recycled material. (d) Refers to copper cathode and wire rod sales. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Kelian Equatorial Mining 90.0% East Kalimantan, Indonesia Ore treated ('000 tonnes) 1,995 2,180 2,119 2,134 2,057 5,673 6,310 Average ore grades: Gold (g/t) 1.76 1.66 1.57 1.84 1.56 2.64 1.66 Silver (g/t) 4.39 4.40 3.94 4.12 3.90 5.09 3.99 Production: Gold ('000 ounces) 79 82 76 81 71 387 228 Silver ('000 ounces) 66 73 64 52 93 274 209 Sales: Gold ('000 ounces) 93 47 113 70 76 390 259 Silver ('000 ounces) 145 - 148 - - 299 148 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto percentage interest shown above is at 30 September 2004. The data represent full production and sales on a 100% basis unless otherwise stated. RIO TINTO OPERATIONAL DATA Rio Tinto 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 9 MTHS 9 MTHS interest 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2003 2004 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ COPPER & GOLD (continued) Kennecott Minerals Company Cortez/Pipeline mine 40.0% Nevada, US Ore treated Milled ('000 tonnes) 865 878 781 760 794 2,575 2,334 Leached ('000 tonnes) 5,507 6,161 9,246 7,110 9,673 11,306 26,030 Sold for roasting ('000 tonnes) 111 62 96 111 107 402 314 Average ore grade: gold Milled (g/t) 5.55 5.61 6.14 6.43 5.31 6.84 5.95 Leached (g/t) 0.85 0.78 0.77 0.73 0.50 0.96 0.66 Sold for roasting (g/t) 5.87 5.86 5.90 6.21 6.90 6.84 6.35 Gold produced ('000 ounces) 249 264 283 288 264 821 835 Greens Creek mine 70.3% Alaska, US Ore treated ('000 tonnes) 185 177 182 177 182 532 541 Average ore grades: Gold (g/t) 6.20 6.19 5.86 6.21 5.43 6.49 5.83 Silver (g/t) 764 671 572 560 619 677 584 Zinc (%) 11.1 11.8 10.7 11.9 11.1 12.5 11.2 Lead (%) 4.3 4.7 3.9 4.6 3.9 4.5 4.1 Metals produced in concentrates: Gold ('000 ounces) 25 24 23 23 21 75 66 Silver ('000 ounces) 3,518 2,897 2,506 2,254 2,580 8,810 7,339 Zinc ('000 tonnes) 16.6 16.1 15.3 15.6 15.3 52.9 46.2 Lead ('000 tonnes) 5.6 5.9 4.6 5.6 4.8 16.7 15.0 Rawhide mine (a) 51.0% Nevada, US Ore treated ('000 tonnes) - - - - - 1,614 - Average ore grades: Gold (g/t) - - - - - 0.51 - Silver (g/t) - - - - - 9.4 - Metals produced in dore: Gold ('000 ounces) 17 15 13 13 11 49 38 Silver ('000 ounces) 131 114 108 122 111 416 341 (a) Mining operations were completed in October 2002 and processing of stockpiled ores was completed in May 2003. Residual gold and silver production continues from the leach pads. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto percentage interest shown above is at 30 September 2004. The data represent full production and sales on a 100% basis unless otherwise stated. RIO TINTO OPERATIONAL DATA Rio Tinto 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 9 MTHS 9 MTHS interest 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2003 2004 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ COPPER & GOLD (continued) Kennecott Utah Copper Barneys Canyon mine (a) 100.0% Utah, US Gold produced ('000 ounces) 10 6 7 4 5 29 16 (a) Mining operations ceased in the first quarter of 2002. Gold continues to be recovered from leach pads. Bingham Canyon mine 100.0% Utah, US Ore treated ('000 tonnes) 11,904 11,988 10,497 11,054 11,943 34,117 33,493 Average ore grade: Copper (%) 0.72 0.64 0.64 0.62 0.58 0.69 0.61 Gold (g/t) 0.31 0.31 0.28 0.23 0.26 0.28 0.26 Silver (g/t) 2.88 3.53 2.74 2.81 2.95 2.84 2.84 Molybdenum (%) 0.028 0.038 0.027 0.019 0.028 0.024 0.025 Copper concentrates produced ('000 tonnes) 298 280 262 277 276 867 815 Average concentrate grade (% Cu) 25.9 25.5 23.9 23.1 22.8 24.2 23.3 Production of metals in copper concentrates: Copper ('000 tonnes) (b) 77.6 71.6 62.5 64.0 63.3 210.2 189.8 Gold ('000 ounces) 79 92 69 59 72 213 200 Silver ('000 ounces) 873 1,105 730 785 947 2,443 2,462 Molybdenum concentrates produced ('000 tonnes): 2.1 2.2 3.0 1.8 2.8 6.6 7.6 Molybdenum in concentrates ('000 tonnes) 1.2 1.1 1.6 0.9 1.5 3.5 4.0 Kennecott smelter & refinery 100.0% Copper concentrates smelted ('000 tonnes) 282 286 279 301 288 774 869 Copper anodes produced ('000 tonnes) (c) 69.9 66.3 54.4 64.3 66.1 176.8 184.7 Production of refined metal: Copper ('000 tonnes) 64.8 59.9 60.3 61.7 63.1 170.7 185.2 Gold ('000 ounces) (d) 66 81 81 77 74 227 232 Silver ('000 ounces) (d) 691 653 778 768 854 2,310 2,400 (b) Includes a small amount of copper in precipitates. (c) New metal excluding recycled material. (d) Includes gold and silver in intermediate products. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Northparkes Joint Venture 80.0% New South Wales, Australia Ore treated ('000 tonnes) 1,284 1,263 1,275 1,157 1,270 3,905 3,702 Average ore grades: Copper (%) 0.70 0.71 0.78 0.71 0.75 0.66 0.75 Gold (g/t) 0.45 0.70 0.73 0.68 0.66 0.36 0.69 Copper concentrates produced ('000 tonnes) 18.3 17.9 19.3 16.6 21.7 57.2 57.5 Contained copper in concentrates: Saleable production ('000 tonnes) 6.7 6.5 7.3 5.9 7.5 20.6 20.8 Sales ('000 tonnes) (a) 4.5 6.2 2.8 7.2 3.1 16.3 13.1 Contained gold in concentrates: Saleable production ('000 ounces) 11.4 18.7 21.0 18.7 17.2 29.9 56.9 Sales ('000 ounces) (a) 6.4 12.4 8.7 21.7 11.4 25.8 41.8 (a) Rio Tinto's 80% share of material from the Joint Venture. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto percentage interest shown above is at 30 September 2004. The data represent full production and sales on a 100% basis unless otherwise stated. RIO TINTO OPERATIONAL DATA Rio Tinto 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 9 MTHS 9 MTHS interest 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2003 2004 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ COPPER & GOLD (continued) Palabora 49.2% Palabora mine South Africa Ore treated ('000 tonnes) 3,398 2,838 2,101 1,897 2,345 8,577 6,343 Average ore grade: copper (%) 0.53 0.63 0.76 0.74 0.75 0.57 0.75 Copper concentrates produced ('000 tonnes) 43.5 46.3 35.9 35.4 64.2 117.0 135.5 Average concentrate grade: copper (%) 32.9 31.3 29.7 28.3 27.7 32.4 28.4 Copper in concentrates ('000 tonnes) 14.3 14.5 10.7 10.0 17.8 37.9 38.4 Palabora smelter/refinery New concentrate smelted on site ('000 64.0 72.5 59.4 68.0 59.0 195.2 186.5 tonnes) New copper anodes produced ('000 tonnes) 19.4 21.3 15.8 19.7 14.4 55.3 49.9 Refined new copper produced ('000 tonnes) 17.4 20.9 17.9 17.2 16.2 52.5 51.3 By-products: Magnetite concentrate ('000 tonnes) 53 68 105 160 144 148 409 Refined nickel sulphate (tonnes) 26 38 53 37 36 114 126 Vermiculite plant Vermiculite produced ('000 tonnes) 32.5 35.6 38.4 51.5 52.7 137.6 142.6 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Peak Gold Mine (a) 0.0% New South Wales, Australia Ore treated ('000 tonnes) - - - - - 144 - Average ore grades: Gold (g/t) - - - - - 5.23 - Silver (g/t) - - - - - 3.16 - Copper (%) - - - - - 0.13 - Lead (%) - - - - - 0.11 - Zinc (%) - - - - - 0.00 - Bullion produced ('000 ounces) - - - - - 23 - Containing: Gold ('000 ounces) - - - - - 20 - Silver ('000 ounces) - - - - - 3 - Gold recovered in concentrates ('000 ounces) - - - - - - - ______________________________________________________________ Total gold production ('000 ounces) - - - - - 20 - ______________________________________________________________ Bullion sales (fine gold) ('000 ounces) - - - - - 20 - (a) Rio Tinto completed the sale of its wholly owned Peak Gold Mine on 17 March 2003. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto Brasil Limitada Morro do Ouro mine 51.0% Minas Gerais, Brazil Ore treated ('000 tonnes) 4,655 4,640 4,499 4,271 4,409 13,771 13,179 Average ore grade: gold (g/t) 0.45 0.43 0.45 0.46 0.44 0.45 0.45 Refined gold produced ('000 ounces) 48 51 50 45 48 150 142 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto percentage interest shown above is at 30 September 2004. The data represent full production and sales on a 100% basis unless otherwise stated. RIO TINTO OPERATIONAL DATA Rio Tinto 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 9 MTHS 9 MTHS interest 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2003 2004 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ COPPER & GOLD (continued) Rio Tinto Zimbabwe (a) Patchway mine (b) 0.0% Zimbabwe Ore treated ('000 tonnes) - - - - - 38 - Average ore grade: gold (g/t) - - - - - 2.13 - Total gold produced ('000 ounces) - - - - - 2 - Renco mine 0.0% Zimbabwe Ore treated ('000 tonnes) 64 61 61 85 - 173 146 Average ore grade: gold (g/t) 3.48 3.56 3.13 3.43 - 3.60 3.30 Total gold produced ('000 ounces) 6 6 5 6 - 17 11 Total Rio Tinto Zimbabwe ______________________________________________________________ Total gold produced ('000 ounces) 6 6 5 6 - 19 11 ______________________________________________________________ (a) As a result of the corporate restructuring completed on 8 July 2004, Rio Tinto has ceased to be an ordinary shareholder in the renamed RioZim but will retain a reduced cash participation in its gold and nickel assets for a period of ten years. (b) Rio Tinto Zimbabwe completed the sale of the Patchway mine in July 2003. Somincor (a) Neves Corvo mine 0.0% Portugal Total ore treated ('000 tonnes) (b) 354 447 448 430 - 1,253 878 of which, treated to extract tin ('000 4 10 5 8 - 12 13 tonnes) Average ore grades: Copper (%) 5.13 5.15 6.02 6.07 - 5.40 6.04 Tin (%) 2.26 2.46 2.15 1.80 - 1.91 1.93 Copper production: Copper concentrates produced ('000 66.2 84.0 100.1 98.3 - 245.6 198.3 tonnes) Copper concentrate grade: copper (%) 23.2 23.4 23.7 23.6 - 23.6 23.7 Copper in concentrates produced ('000 15.4 19.6 23.7 23.2 - 57.9 46.9 tonnes) Tin production: Tin concentrates produced ('000 tonnes) 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 - 0.1 0.2 Tin concentrate grade: tin (%) 60.7 64.3 63.9 67.1 - 56.7 65.9 Tin in concentrates produced ('000 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 - 0.1 0.1 tonnes) (a) Rio Tinto completed the sale of its 49% interest in Somincor on 18 June 2004. Production data are shown up to the date of sale. (b) Total ore treated for both copper and tin production. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ DIAMONDS Argyle Diamonds 100.0% Western Australia AK1 ore processed ('000 tonnes) 2,601 2,372 2,066 2,424 2,468 7,415 6,958 AK1 Diamonds produced ('000 carats) 9,690 8,307 3,612 2,669 5,328 22,603 11,610 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Diavik Diamonds 60.0% Northwest Territories, Canada Ore processed ('000 tonnes) 388 300 394 541 560 894 1,495 Diamonds recovered ('000 carats) 1,466 1,101 1,537 2,273 2,263 2,731 6,073 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Merlin (a) 100.0% Northern Territory, Australia Ore processed ('000 tonnes) - - - - - 237 - Diamonds recovered ('000 carats) 18 - - - - 62 - (a) Ore mining and processing ceased during the second quarter of 2003. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Murowa Diamonds (a) 77.8% Zimbabwe Ore processed ('000 tonnes) - - - - 4 - 4 Diamonds recovered ('000 carats) - - - - 3 - 3 (a) Ore mining and processing commenced during the third quarter of 2004. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto percentage interest shown above is at 30 September 2004. The data represent full production and sales on a 100% basis unless otherwise stated. RIO TINTO OPERATIONAL DATA Rio Tinto 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 9 MTHS 9 MTHS interest 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2003 2004 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ IRON ORE Hamersley Iron Western Australia Saleable iron ore production ('000 tonnes): Paraburdoo, Mount Tom Price, 100.0% Marandoo, Yandicoogina and Brockman 16,079 17,462 14,407 16,273 17,140 45,595 47,819 Channar 60.0% 2,713 2,361 2,341 2,526 2,705 7,986 7,572 Eastern Range (a) 54.0% - - 3 645 1,050 - 1,698 ______________________________________________________________ Total production ('000 tonnes) 18,792 19,823 16,751 19,443 20,895 53,581 57,089 ______________________________________________________________ Total sales ('000 tonnes) (b) 18,636 19,987 17,664 18,112 19,822 54,346 55,598 ______________________________________________________________ (a) The Eastern Range mine commenced production in March 2004. (b) Sales represent iron ore exported from Western Australian ports (previously reported as Total shipments). _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Iron Ore Company of Canada Newfoundland & Labrador and Quebec in Canada Carol Lake operations 58.7% Saleable iron ore production: Concentrates ('000 tonnes) 958 706 462 608 0 1,942 1,070 Pellets ('000 tonnes) 2,823 3,026 2,892 3,137 536 8,551 6,565 Sales: Concentrate ('000 tonnes) 664 1,093 431 537 238 1,524 1,206 Pellets ('000 tonnes) 2,820 3,767 2,072 3,408 1,844 8,544 7,324 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto Brasil Corumba mine 100.0% Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil Saleable iron ore production ('000 tonnes) 292 279 268 306 352 795 926 (a) (a) Production includes by-product fines. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Robe River Iron Associates Pannawonica mine 53.0% Western Australia Saleable iron ore production ('000 tonnes) 7,583 8,035 6,281 8,437 7,643 23,999 22,360 Sales ('000 tonnes) 8,413 7,470 7,325 7,014 7,602 23,604 21,942 West Angelas mine 53.0% Western Australia Saleable iron ore production ('000 tonnes) 2,996 4,510 3,997 4,978 5,240 8,592 14,214 Sales ('000 tonnes) 2,585 4,350 4,742 3,937 5,784 8,436 14,462 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ NICKEL Rio Tinto Brasil Fortaleza mine 0.0% Brazil Production (tonnes) 1,284 1,524 - - - 4,426 - (a) Rio Tinto completed the sale of its 100% interest in the Fortaleza nickel mine on 16 January 2004. The sale was effective from 1 January 2004. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto Zimbabwe (a) Empress Nickel refinery 0.0% Zimbabwe Production (tonnes) 1,836 1,804 1,733 1,156 - 4,395 2,889 (a) As a result of the corporate restructuring completed on 8 July 2004, Rio Tinto has ceased to be an ordinary shareholder in the renamed RioZim but will retain a reduced cash participation in its gold and nickel assets for a period of ten years. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ SALT Dampier Salt 64.9% Western Australia Salt production ('000 tonnes) 2,186 1,725 1,745 1,936 1,957 5,410 5,638 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto percentage interest shown above is at 30 September 2004. The data represent full production and sales on a 100% basis unless otherwise stated. RIO TINTO OPERATIONAL DATA Rio Tinto 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 9 MTHS 9 MTHS interest 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2003 2004 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ TALC The Luzenac Group 99.9% Australia, Europe, and North America Talc production ('000 tonnes) 350 321 356 361 371 1,037 1,089 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ TITANIUM DIOXIDE FEEDSTOCK Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium 100.0% Canada and South Africa (Rio Tinto share) Titanium dioxide feedstock production ('000 291 293 287 291 296 899 873 tonnes) _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ URANIUM Energy Resources of Australia Ltd Ranger mine 68.4% Northern Territory, Australia Production (tonnes U3O8) 1,133 1,255 1,183 1,098 1,362 3,879 3,643 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rossing Uranium Ltd 68.6% Namibia Production (tonnes U3O8) 904 799 907 885 990 1,602 2,781 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ZINC Zinkgruvan Mining AB 0.0% Sweden Ore treated ('000 tonnes) 191 227 196 139 - 547 335 Average ore grades: Zinc (%) 8.8 9.3 10.6 8.1 - 9.1 9.6 Lead (%) 4.8 5.3 4.2 3.6 - 4.5 3.9 Silver (g/t) 102 105 95 77 - 101 86 Production of zinc concentrate ('000 tonnes) 27.5 35.0 34.8 18.7 - 82.0 53.5 Production of lead concentrate ('000 tonnes) 11.3 14.4 9.9 5.9 - 31.4 15.8 Production of metal in concentrates: Zinc ('000 tonnes) 15.1 19.1 19.2 10.5 - 45.4 29.7 Lead ('000 tonnes) 8.0 10.1 7.0 4.2 - 21.7 11.2 Silver ('000 ounces) 460 571 426 225 - 1,270 651 (a) Rio Tinto completed the sale of its 100% interest in the Zinkgruvan mine on 2 June 2004. Production data are shown up to the date of sale. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rio Tinto percentage interest shown above is at 30 September 2004. The data represent full production and sales on a 100% basis unless otherwise stated. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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