Xstrata boosted production of coal, its most valuable commodity this year, in the third quarter largely due to a Colombian asset it might sell before March 2010.

The inclusion of the Prodeco coal operation in Colombia boosted Xstrata’s thermal coal production to 21.9m tonnes in the third quarter, compared with 20.3m tonnes for the same period last year, lifting total coal production 9 per cent to 25.6m tonnes year-on-year.