Rio Tinto increased iron ore supply by 7% y/y in the first half of 2023

In the second quarter, shipments decreased by 4% q/q and 1% y/y

In the first half of 2023, the British-Australian mining concern Rio Tinto increased the shipment of iron ore from the Pilbara region by 7% compared to the same period in 2022 – up to 161.7 million tons. This is evidenced by data, published on the company’s website.

In the second quarter, iron ore shipments decreased by 4% compared to the previous quarter, and by 1% compared to the same period in 2022 – to 79.1 million tons.

Rio Tinto iron ore production in the first half of 2023 increased by 7% y/y – up to 160.5 million tons. In the second quarter, the company extracted 81.3 million tons of iron ore, which is 2% more compared to the previous quarter, and 3% – by April-June 2022.

The company notes that the increase in iron ore production in the second quarter was facilitated by an increase in the nominal capacity of the Gudai-Darri mine. The 1% reduction in shipments reflects the impact of a planned overhaul at the Port of Dampier and a train derailment.

«Thanks to the continuous improvement of the operations of enterprises in the Pilbara region and the implementation of a safe production system, it is expected that the shipments of iron ore by the end of 2023 will be at the level of 320-335 million tons,» the company notes.

In the first quarter of 2023, Rio Tinto increased shipments of iron ore from the Pilbara region by 16% y/y – up to 82.5 million tons. Iron ore production increased by 11% in annual terms – up to 79.3 million tons.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2022, Rio Tinto kept the shipment of iron ore from the Pilbara region at the level of 2021 – 321.6 million tons. The company’s iron ore production last year increased by 1% compared to 2021 – up to 321.6 million t.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, Rio Tinto increased iron ore shipments by 4% compared to the previous quarter of 2021 – up to 87.3 million tons. Iron ore production during this period increased by 6% to July-September 2022 – up to 89.5 million tons.