Rio Tinto Q3 iron ore shipments rise 5%

Higher Chinese demand helped mining giant Rio Tinto report a 5% rise in third-quarter iron ore shipments.

The company on Wednesday maintained its full year iron ore shipment forecast of 320m – 330m tonnes. However, it lowered production forecasts for bauxite and alumina due to bad weather and maintenance issues.

Rio said it shipped 86.1m tonnes of iron ore between July and September quarter, compared with 81.9m a year earlier.

"We have delivered improved production across the majority of our products in the third quarter, with a solid result at our Pilbara mines driving increased sales of iron ore into robust markets,” said chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques.

Iron ore prices surged nearly 60% earlier this year after a fatal dam disaster at a Brazilian mine and a cyclone in Western Australia caused a global supply shortage.