World’s leading iron ore miner – Rio Tinto recorded iron ore shipments at 330.6 mn t for CY’20, up by 1% y-o-y. The company has set Pilbara iron ore shipment guidance at 325-340 mn t for CY’21.
For Q4 CY’20, shipments were recorded at 88.9 mn t, up by 8% against 82.1 mn t in Q3 CY20.
Iron ore production increased by 2% in CY’20
The total iron ore production marked 2% increase to 333.4 mn t in CY’20. The Pilbara iron ore achieved strong performance despite the cyclone Damien and COVID -19 disruption resulting in deferral of maintenance in second half of CY’20.
For Q4 CY’20, the output stood almost stable at 86 mnt as compared to 86.4 mn t in Q3 CY’20.
IOC pellet production down marginally in CY’20
IOC iron ore pellet & concentrate production in CY’20 was recorded at 10.4 mn t, down compared to CY’19 at 10.5 mn t. The production drop is attributed to unplanned maintenance at the processing facilities in the third and fourth quarter. Following rising demand in Europe, IOC continues optimization of IOC product mix to match market demand, returning to higher pellet production. IOC is now operating all the six pellet lines (6th line resumed in Q4 CY20). At IOC, the iron ore pellet and concentrate production guidance for CY’21 is set at 10.5-12 mn t.
Yearly average prices up in CY’20
Pilbara iron ore prices increased to $91/wmt FoB in CY’20 against $79 in CY’19.
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