Rio Tinto Quarterly Iron Ore Shipments Slip
October 19 2016 - 6:29PM
Dow Jones News
By Rhiannon Hoyle
SYDNEY--Rio Tinto PLC (RIO.LN) said shipments of iron ore fell
in the third quarter of the year, and projected annual exports of
the steelmaking ingredient might be slightly lower than previously
anticipated.
The miner, which runs the world's No. 2 iron-ore export
business, on Thursday reported shipments from its Australian mines
of 80.9 million metric tons in the three months through September,
down 5% on the same period a year ago and 2% on the quarter
immediately prior. Rio Tinto attributed the decline to maintenance
work on its railway and a ship loader at the Cape Lambert port.
It said it now expects to ship between 325 million and 330
million tons from Australia in 2016. That was revised from an
earlier projection of roughly 330 million tons.
Still, Rio Tinto's output of the commodity was slightly higher,
with 83.2 million tons--2% more than the same time a year
ago--produced at its mines in remote northwest Australia, where the
miner has been expanding its operations in recent years.
Rio Tinto also has an interest in an iron-ore operation in
Canada, where its share of output increased 14% on-quarter and 5%
on-year, to 2.9 million tons.
Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said the miner
will continue to look for ways to run its mines more efficiently,
even as prices for most of its commodities including iron ore and
copper have stabilized.
"With a continued focus on value, we will seek further
productivity improvements across the business," he said.
Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 19, 2016 18:14 ET (22:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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