Australia-based miner Rio Tinto has announced its production results for the third quarter this year.
In the given quarter of the current year, the company’s iron ore production from its Pilbara operations in Western Australia decreased by 0.9 percent year on year and was up by 2.7 percent quarter on quarter to 83.5 million mt. In the given quarter, the company’s iron ore shipments from its Pilbara operations amounted to 83.9 million mt, rising by 1.2 percent year on year and up by 6.1 percent compared to the previous quarter.
The company stated that it aims to increase the capacity of the Gudai-Darri mine, which reached its annual 43 million mt capacity in the second quarter, to an annual 50 million mt in 2025.
Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore shipments in 2023 are unchanged in the upper half of the original 320-335 million mt range, while Pilbara iron ore shipments forecast for 2024 are at 323-338 million mt. The company stated that it will ship more low-grade iron ore over the next few years as it is focused on bringing its next generation of Pilbara mines into production. Therefore, the guidance for 2024 includes 45-50 million mt of SP10 products, which is the code for low-grade iron ore.