Australian iron ore giant Rio Tinto has announced that it is currently experiencing operational challenges, particularly in the Greater Brockman hub in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, resulting in a higher proportion of certain lower grade products.
Rio Tinto said that around 1.5 million mt of lower grade products were sold in the first quarter this year and additional sales of these products will be made during 2019.
In light of these challenges, Rio Tinto has revised its guidance of Pilbara iron ore shipments for 2019 to 320-330 million mt from 333-343 million mt.