Coal & Allied - 3QPR

Rio Tinto PLC
22 October 2003

Rio Tinto's 75.7 per cent owned subsidiary, Coal & Allied Industries Limited,
issued the following news release in Australia. All dollars are Australian
currency.


Coal & Allied production report for the quarter ended 30 September 2003


                                                  3Q       4Q       1Q          2Q        3Q        Year
                                                2002     2002     2003        2003      2003        2002
'000 tonnes (100% basis) (a)

Hunter Valley Operations
Thermal coal production                        2,448    2,266    2,363       2,136     2,028       9,183
Coking coal production                           636      845      800         805       875       3,442

Mount Thorley Operations
Thermal coal production                          621      637      510         361       416       2,465
Coking coal production                           392      365      356         330       369       1,827

Bengalla Mine
Thermal coal production                        1,228    1,517    1,298       1,776     1,122       5,385

Moura Mine (b)
Thermal coal production                            -        -        -           -         -       1,018
Coking coal production                             -        -        -           -         -       1,381

Narama Mine (b)
Thermal coal production                            -        -        -           -         -         370

Ravensworth East Mine (b)
Thermal coal production                            -        -        -           -         -         387

Warkworth Mine
Thermal coal production                        1,430    1,871    1,634       1,152     1,212       6,314
Coking coal production                           162       42      112         168       127         568

Total coal production                          6,915    7,544    7,074       6,728     6,147      32,340

Total sales ('000 tonnes) (c)                  6,851    7,486    7,174       6,633     6,802      31,549





Production in the third quarter of 2003 was 9 per cent lower than in the second
quarter of 2003 due primarily to lower production from Bengalla. At Bengalla,
production was impacted as mining had progressed through to lower productive
areas of the mining sequence. Operational changes were implemented in the third
quarter of 2003 to reduce saleable production capacity to align with market
demand. Port and rail congestion remains an issue.





Notes



(a)        Rio Tinto increased its stake in Coal & Allied from 72.7 per cent to
           75.7 per cent in September 2002.

(b)        The sale of Coal & Allied's share of Narama and Ravensworth was
           completed on 14 March 2002.   Coal & Allied sold its interest in the 
           Moura coal mine with effect from 24 May 2002.

(c)        Sales relate only to coal mined by the operations and exclude traded
           coal.





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LONDON                                               AUSTRALIA

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Website: www.riotinto.com




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