Rio Tinto’s iron ore exports rose 5% in the March quarter compared to the same time last year.
In its first-quarter production report, the world’s largest miner of iron ore on Friday said it had shipped 72.9 million tonnes ore in the three months to March 31, up from 69.1 million tonnes a year earlier.
But it was down sharply – 16% – from the December quarter.
Rio Tinto said the result was dragged down by disruption caused by the destructive Tropical Cyclone Damien in February, one of the strongest systems to pass the Pilbara coastline in years.
Cyclone Veronica hit Rio’s operations in the first quarter of 2019 (the month of March) while fires at the export terminals at Cape Lambert also cut shipments.
Rio said in the commentary “Demand for the high-quality iron ores we produce remained strong in the first quarter of 2020, mainly driven by a combination of seaborne supply disruptions and solid demand from China’s steel mills despite Covid-19 impacts.”
Rio Tinto also slashed its copper production target by more than 50,000 tonnes due to the impact of government restrictions affecting its mine operations in Chile, as well as earthquake damage at its mine in the United States.
It maintained its iron ore shipment forecast for 2020 at the current 320 million to 334 million tonnes.
