Australia-based Rio Tinto, the world's second biggest iron ore producer, has announced that in the third quarter of the current year its global iron ore production increased by 12 percent year on year to 86.1 million mt. In the given quarter, the company's global iron ore shipments amounted to 91.3 million mt, up 17 percent year on year.
On the other hand, during the first nine months of the year, the miner’s global iron ore production amounted to 240.4 million mt, rising by 11 percent, while its global iron ore shipments increased by 11 percent to 245.3 million mt, both year on year.
Rio Tinto's Australian hard coking coal production in the first nine months increased by 10 percent year on year to 6 million mt.
In the Pilbara region of Western Australia, sales in the given quarter exceeded production by 4.2 million mt, primarily drawing down on inventories at the mines. This draw-down has been a key focus in 2015 and inventories built up during the infrastructure expansion phase are expected to be largely utilized by early 2016.
Rio Tinto’s 2015 global iron ore shipments guidance remains unchanged at 340 million mt from its operations in Australia and Canada.