World’s second largest iron ore miner- Rio Tinto’s Pilbara depicted fall of 14% in iron ore shipment to 69.1 MnT in Q1 CY19 , as against 80.3 MnT in Q1 CY18. The drop is due to hindrances at port facilities caused due to cyclone Veronica in Mar’19. On quarterly basis too, the shipments fell 21% as compared to 87.4 MnT in Q4 CY18. Following, the cyclone, the miner reduced shipment guidance for the year 2019.
Rio Tinto iron ore production fell in Q1 CY19
Rio Tinto recorded drop in Q1 CY19 production. Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore production witnessed at 76 MnT, down 12% as against 86.6 MnT in Q4 CY18. The production fell 9% on yearly basis as compared to 83.1 MnT in Q1 CY18. The drop is owing to fire at Cape Lambert A port in January and cyclone Veronica in Mar’19, as a result the miner forecasted a loss of about 14 MnT in 2019 production.
IOC production down 13% in Q1 CY19
Rio Tinto’s iron ore & pellet concentrate production for the Q1 CY’19 recorded at 2.48 MnT, down 13% as against 2.84 MnT in Q4 CY18 due to weather constraints. However, on yearly basis, the production increased 5% compared to 2.36 MnT in Q1 CY18.
At IOC, the sales for first quarter CY19 dropped to 2.09 MnT as against 3.07 MnT in Q4 CY18.
Rio Tinto reduces guidance for 2019
• Rio Tinto 2019 Pilbara iron ore shipment guidance is reduced to 333-343 MnT (previously 338-350 MnT)
• At IOC, the iron ore pellet and concentrate production guidance for 2019 is between 11.3-12.3 MnT
Rio Tinto Recent Updates
• The miner following investment approval at Koodaideri iron ore replacement mine in Nov’18 has commenced with the construction work. The production is expected to start in late 2019
• Rio Tinto’s two Robe River Joint Venture projects (West Angelas and Robe Valley) to sustain capacity are in progress.
• Rio Tinto’s Pilbara unit cost guidance in 2019 remains at USD 13-14 /MT.
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