The world’s leading iron ore miner, Rio Tinto, recorded iron ore shipments at 76.3 million tonnes (mn t) for Q2CY’21, down by 12% y-o-y as compared to 86.7 mn t in Q2CY’20. The shipments fell amid additional drawdown of inventories, ongoing Covid restrictions and a tight labour market.The shipment, on a quarterly basis, fell marginally against 77.8 mn t in Q1CY21. All figures mentioned are on 100% basis.
Iron ore production drops 9% in Q2CY’21
The total iron ore production marked a 9% fall to 75.9 mn t in Q2CY’21 as against 83.2 mn t in Q2CY’20.This was due to above-average rainfall in West Pilbara, shutdowns to enable replacement mines to be tied in, and cultural heritage management.
IOC pellet production down in Q2
The Iron Ore Company of Canada’s (IOC’s) iron ore pellet and concentrate production in Q2CY’21 were recorded at 2.7 mn t, down marginally by 2%. This was due to labour and equipment availability issues impacting product feed. The Force Majeure declared in Apr, following the fire at the port, has been lifted.
On a quarterly basis, output lifted by 16% as compared to 2.3 mn t in Q1 CY21. IOC is a joint venture between Rio Tinto, Mitsubishi and the Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Income Corp.
Key updates
- The company’s Pilbara iron ore shipment guidance remains unchanged at 325-340 mn t for CY’21. The company expects iron ore shipments to be at the low end of the guidance range which remains subject to Covid-19 disruptions, tie-in and ramp-up of brownfield replacement mines and management of cultural heritage.
- At IOC, the iron ore pellet and concentrate production guidance for CY’21 is unchanged at 10.5-12 mn t.
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