Rio Tinto reported aluminium production of 829,000 tonnes for the first quarter of 2025, matching output from the same period last year, despite energy restrictions at its operations in New Zealand and Canada. The New Zealand Aluminium Smelter has been asked to reduce electricity use through August, and the Kitimat plant in British Columbia experienced lower water reservoir levels. These constraints did not affect overall aluminium output during the quarter.
Bauxite production rose 12% year-on-year to 14.97 million tonnes, marking a record for the January–March period. Alumina output increased 3% to 1.92 million tonnes.
Copper production climbed 16% to 210,000 tonnes. The rise was driven by stronger output at the Escondida mine in Chile, which increased ore production by 24% to 89,000 tonnes, and a 42% gain at Mongolia’s Oyu Tolgoi mine, where expanded underground operations lifted output to 65,000 tonnes. However, copper production at the Kennecott site in the US fell 11% to 42,000 tonnes due to a February power outage. Electrolytic copper production declined 8% to 14,000 tonnes.
Titanium dioxide slag production declined 12% to 223,000 tonnes over the same period.
Following its March acquisition of Arkadium Lithium, Rio Tinto reported 17,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent for the quarter, of which 6,000 tonnes were produced after the acquisition closed.
