Australia-based Rio Tinto, the world's second biggest iron ore producer, has announced that in the first quarter of the current year iron ore production from its Pilbara operations in Western Australia decreased by three percent year on year to 77.2 million mt. In the given quarter, the company's iron ore shipments from its Pilbara operations amounted to 76.7 million mt, remaining stable year on year.
Rio Tinto stated that ship loading was impacted by Cyclone Debbie during the period in question, while sections of the rail network were affected by significant rainfall. Despite these disruptions, iron ore shipments were in line with the first quarter of 2016 and iron ore shipment guidance for the current year remains at 330 million mt to 340 million mt.
Meanwhile, Rio Tinto's Australian hard coking coal production in the fourth quarter declined by 20 percent to 1.58 million mt compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.