Rio could triple production

Rio Tinto could almost triple production at its Cape York Penninsula mines, in a bid to meet long-term growth for aluminium. The mining giant is considering boosting production at its Weipa operations from 18 million tonnes a year to 35 million tonnes by 2013. The company wants to go even further, asking the federal government for approval to go as high as 50 million tonnes in the longer term. Rio is also currently investigating port deals with China's Chalco, which owns the neighbouring Aurukun bauxite deposit. Source: skynews