Rio Tinto 1Q Iron-Ore Exports Up 16%; Cuts Fiscal Year Copper Output Estimate

By Rhiannon Hoyle

Rio Tinto PLC reported record first-quarter iron-ore shipments from its Australian mining operations but downgraded its full-year copper-production estimate, citing a conveyor outage at its Kennecott mine in Utah.

The world's second-biggest miner by market value on Thursday said it shipped 82.5 million metric tons of iron ore from its mines in Australia's Pilbara region in the three months through March, up 16% on the same period a year ago.

Rio Tinto said it produced 145,000 metric tons of mined copper, in line with the same period of 2022. It lowered its production guidance for 2023 to between 590,000 and 640,000 tons, from 650,000 to 710,000 tons previously.

Output at its Kennecott mine was 36% lower year-on-year because of problems with the conveyor belt that links the mine to the concentrator in March combined with record snowfall.

The concentrator is expected to operate at reduced rates until the third quarter of 2023, Rio Tinto said.

Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 19, 2023 18:55 ET (22:55 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.