Rio Tinto cuts iron ore shipment guidance

Rio Tinto cut full-year iron ore shipment guidance after volumes in the second quarter were lower than expected due to rail maintenance and poor weather.

The miner said iron ore shipments would be around 330m tonnes against previous estimates of 330m-340m.

Second quarter Pilbara iron ore shipments fell 6% to 77.7m tonnes. Average prices rose in the first half to $62.4 per wet metric tonne, up from the 2016 full-year price of $49.30.

Rio said further rail maintenance will continue throughout the rest of 2017, “albeit at a lower level than in the second quarter”.

Bauxite production was 7% higher to a record 12.9m tonnes for the term, driven by strong production at Weipa and Gove. Third party shipments of 8m tonnes were achieved in the second quarter.

Mined copper production fell 6% to 124.7 kilotonnes year on year, although Rio said the Escondida mine in Chile continued to ramp up output following a labour strike.

Titanium dioxide slag production increased 34%, reflecting higher market demand, Rio said.