Australia-based miner Rio Tinto, the world’s second biggest iron ore producer, has announced that in the third quarter of the current year iron ore production from its Pilbara operations in Western Australia increased by 10 percent quarter on quarter and decreased by four percent year on year to 83.3 million mt, due to project completion delays. In the given quarter, the company’s iron ore shipments from its Pilbara operations amounted to 83.4 million mt, rising by two percent from the same quarter of the previous year and up by nine percent compared to the second quarter.
In the first nine months of the year, Rio Tinto’s iron ore production from its Pilbara operations fell by five percent year on year to 235.6 million mt, while its iron ore shipments in the same period totaled 237.5 million mt, falling by two percent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore shipment guidance for 2021 is at 320-325 million mt, compared to 325-340 million mt in the previous guidance.
