Coal & Allied 4QPR 2004

Rio Tinto PLC
19 January 2005

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 and Allied production report for the quarter ended 31 December 2004


                                          4Q     1Q     2Q     3Q         4Q    12 months    12 months   
'000 tonnes (100% basis)(a)             2003   2004   2004   2004       2004         2003         2004

Hunter Valley Operations
Thermal coal production                2,620  2,255  2,738  2,838      3,340        9,146       11,172
Semi-soft coking coal production         381    371    729    689        308        2,862        2,097

Mount Thorley Operations
Thermal coal production                  433    514    710    722        817        1,720        2,762
Semi-soft coking coal production         377    158    240    258        129        1,432          785

Bengalla Mine
Thermal coal production                2,008  1,075  1,525  1,737        975        6,203        5,312

Warkworth Mine
Thermal coal production                1,371  1,217  1,394  1,381      1,560        5,369        5,552
Semi-soft coking coal production          93    237    447    479        239          500        1,403

Total coal production                  7,284  5,826  7,784  8,105      7,368       27,232       29,083

Total sales ('000 tonnes)(a)           7,278  6,424  7,486  7,931      6,835       27,887       28,677

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



Production at Bengalla was lower than in previous quarters as mining progressed
through an area with a higher strip ratio.  Total production from all other
mines exceeded the previous quarter and the corresponding period of 2003.



Production at Hunter Valley increased slightly during the quarter, assisted by
the use of contractors, to take advantage of market conditions.



Sales through the port of Newcastle were lower than the previous quarter due to
vessel presentation and port congestion.



There was no exploration activity during the quarter.



Coal & Allied continued work on the development of the Mount Pleasant deposit
(Coal & Allied 100 per cent).





For further information, please contact:

LONDON                                            AUSTRALIA

Media Relations                                   Media Relations
Lisa Cullimore                                    Ian Head
Office:  [phone]                     Office:  [phone]
Mobile: [phone]                      Mobile: [phone]


Investor Relations                                Investor Relations
Peter Cunningham                                  Dave Skinner
Office:  [phone]                     Office:  [phone]
Mobile: [phone]                      Mobile: [phone]
Richard Brimelow                                  Susie Creswell
Office:  [phone]                     Office:  [phone]
Mobile: [phone]                      Mobile: [phone]



Website: www.riotinto.com




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange          KCKNOBKKDDD