Rio Tinto PLC on Wednesday said iron ore production rose modestly in the third quarter but issues elsewhere saw drops in aluminium and IOC output.
Pilbara iron ore production edged up 0.7% to 84.1 million tonnes in the third quarter from 83.5 million tonnes a year prior and 6% from the prior quarter. Iron ore shipments also rose 0.7% to 84.5 million tonnes from 83.9 million tonnes from the year before and 5% from the second quarter.
In Pilbara, productivity gains continue to offset ore depletion, Rio said.
Bauxite production rose 8.6% to 15.1 million tonnes from 13.9 million tonnes the year before but aluminium production fell 2.3% to 809,000 tonnes from 828,000 tonnes. Mined copper production edged down to 168,000 tonnes from 169,000 tonnes.
The improvement in Bauxite production continues to be driven by higher plant availability and utilisation rates, Rio said.
But aluminium production at its New Zealand aluminium smelter was impacted by a call from Meridian Energy to reduce its electricity usage by 185 mega watts from early August. This call for reduced usage has now ended.
IOC iron ore pellets and concentrate production fell 13% to 2.1 million tonnes from 2.4 million tonnes a year before, reflecting an 11-day site-wide shutdown following forest fires in mid-July.
This has led to full year iron ore pellets and concentrate production guidance being lowered to 9.1 to 9.6 million tonnes from 9.8 to 11.5 million tonnes before.
Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said: ‘We progressed our major projects to deliver profitable organic growth. We are on track for first production from our Simandou high-grade iron ore project next year and first lithium from the Rincon starter plant by the end of this year. Meanwhile the ramp-up of copper production continues at the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine.’
Analysts at Citi said the update was ‘disappointing’, noting the ongoing issues at IOC and New Zealand aluminium.
Shares in Rio Tinto rose 0.9% to 5,085.00 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights reserved.
