Rio Tinto lifted production in 2023, despite a slow start to the year. Picture: Matt Nicholls
Bauxite shipments out of Rio Tinto’s Weipa operations lifted slightly in 2023, despite a sluggish start to the year.
The mining company shipped 35.12 million tonnes from Weipa last year, up from 34.52 in 2022.
But challenges due to weather and equipment downtime had executives concerned at Easter.
Just 7.49Mt were shipped in the first quarter of last year.
However, that number rose each quarter to 8.81, then 9.0, and finally 9.81 in the final quarter of last year.
“Due to the wet weather in Q1, 2023 was a challenging year but were able to make a strong recovery in the second half of the year,” said Shona Markham, the general manager of Rio Tinto’s Weipa operations.
“We had a strong performance across our Weipa operations in Q4 and I want to acknowledge the efforts of everyone at all our sites in helping achieve our group bauxite guidance.
“It demonstrates the outstanding results we can attain when we work together.”
Rio Tinto’s Gove operation shipped 11.5Mt of bauxite in 2023, with the company’s other bauxite sourced from mines in Guinea and Brazil.
WEIPA’S RECENT ANNUAL BAUXITE SHIPMENTS (in million tonnes)
2023
35.126
2022
34.525
2021
34.088
2020
35.009
2019 – Record year
35.411
2018
30.437
2017
30.898
