Rio Tinto trims iron ore guidance after third quarter slip

Rio Tinto lowered its iron ore shipment guidance slightly after it fell 5% to 80.9m tonnes in the third quarter, reduced by port and rail maintenance.

Expectations for Pilbara iron ore shipments for the full year were revised to 325-330m tonnes from the previous 330m after falling.

Bauxite production growth accelerated to 10% year-on-year to 12,1422kt and aluminium up 11% to 924kt.

Mined copper was up 16% to 133.3kt but down on the preceding quarter.

Hard coking coal was up 17% to 2,175kt but semi-soft and thermal coal was down 2% to 5,412kt.

Chief executive Jean-Sébastien characterised the period as "strong" and said management will continue to focus on value and seek further productivity improvements across the business.

"Our rigorous attention to cash generation, coupled with a disciplined allocation of capital remains our key focus in delivering shareholder value."