Rio Tinto reported a 2.4% rise in its first-quarter iron ore sales on Tuesday, driven by robust production from its Pilbara operations, while maintaining its full-year output forecast.
The miner’s Pilbara operations achieved its second-highest first-quarter production since 2018, it said in a statement, driven by continued investment in mine health and productivity and fewer weather impacts.
The world’s biggest iron ore producer sold 72.4 million metric tons of iron ore from its Pilbara operations in the three months ended March 31, compared with shipments of 70.7 million tons a year earlier. That missed the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 74.6 million tons.
Rio Tinto maintained its 2026 Pilbara iron ore sales guidance at 323 million tons to 338 million tons.
(By Shivangi Lahiri; Editing by Pooja Desai)
