Rio Tinto reported a 1% decline in its fourth-quarter iron ore shipments on Thursday, as the miner faced operational headwinds at the Yandicoogina and Paraburdoo mines in the Pilbara region.
Output declined partly due to unusually heavy rainfall that impacted its Australian Pilbara operations, Rio said, as it struggles to bring on fresh production at its Western Range Yandicoogina sites amid declining ore grades.
Steel consumption in China, its primary market, has eased due to a slowdown in the country’s property sector.
Rio shipped 85.7 million metric tonnes (Mt) of the steel-making commodity from its Pilbara operations in the three months ended Dec. 31, down from 86.3 Mt in the same period last year.
That missed a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 87.5 Mt.
The company shipped 328.6 Mt of iron ore from Pilbara in 2024, compared with its guidance range of 323 Mt to 338 Mt.
It forecast shipments between 323 Mt and 338 Mt for 2025.
(By Roushni Nair and Roshan Thomas; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
Comments