Rio Tinto Group PLC is lifting its production of iron ore after demand from China drove a 39 percent jump in first quarter output, AP reported. The update from the world's third largest miner came as workers locked out of one of the Rio's mines in California over a contract dispute flew to London to protest outside the Anglo-Australian company's annual general meeting. Rio reported that iron ore, the key component in steel production, reached 43.4 million metric tons in the first three months of this year. That compares with 31.2 million for the same quarter last year. The company is boosting iron ore production to take advantage of rising prices and Chinese demand, forecasting an 8 percent rise in production this year. «Chinese demand grew strongly and we saw some recovery in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development markets, but we are still cautious about short term volatility,» Chief Executive Officer Tom Albanese said in the statement. «The long term outlook remains very strong and we are now ramping up our growth projects.» But the numbers were still short of many analysts' expectations and _ combined with a 16 percent drop in mined copper output over the quarter _ resulted in a fall in the company's share price. The stock was down 1.3 percent at 3,909 pence in midmorning trade on the London Stock Exchange. The company was also facing negative publicity from an internationally-coordinated demonstration outside its meeting in central London to support around 560 workers who have been locked out of Rio's open-pit mine in the tiny Mojave Desert community of Boron. The miners have been locked out since Jan. 31 when they turned up to work after refusing to accept a new contract from the company. «We have come to London to highlight the courage of ordinary workers and their families in standing up to a powerful global business,» said Ray Familathe, International Vice-President of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the union representing the Boron workers. «This is not just a problem for the small community in Boron, California which relies on the mine for its survival but a global threat when a corporate giant such as Rio Tinto gets away with riding roughshod over its employees.» Dave Irish, one of the locked out miners who traveled to London, said that his family has been surviving on unemployment insurance and handouts since the lockout began. «Rio Tinto wants to starve us into submission, forcing us to accept a contract that we fear will destroy decent, family-supporting jobs,» he said. -- SPA
