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 amounted to 86.4 million mt, down by one percent year on year and rising by four percent from the previous quarter. In the given quarter, the company’s iron ore shipments from its Pilbara operations reached 82.1 million mt, decreasing by five percent from the same quarter of the previous year and down by five percent from the second quarter of the year. This was a solid operational performance, considering an increase in planned maintenance activity deferred from the first half related to coronavirus restrictions. The company continues to ramp up its port sales in China, with 3.6 million mt of sales this year to date, including 1.2 million mt in the third quarter.
In the first nine months of the year, Rio Tinto’s iron ore production from its Pilbara operations rose by two percent year on year to 247.4 million mt, while its iron ore shipments in the same period totaled 241.7 million mt, unchanged compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
According to Rio Tinto, global economic activity in the third quarter was generally strong, helping to sustain optimism for a widespread recovery in 2021. However, recent high-frequency data suggest that the rate of recovery in growth is slowing in most economies, with the rise of renewed lockdowns threatening the recovery.
Rio Tinto expects that its capital expenditure will be around $6 billion in 2020, remaining unchanged compared to its previous estimate. The company also anticipates that its capital expenditure for 2021 and 2022 will be around $7 billion per year. Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore production guidance for the current year has also remained unchanged from the previous guidance of 324-334 million mt.