Australia: Rio Tinto to ship 323-338 mnt of iron ore from Pilbara in 2025

• Rio Tinto keeps 2025 production guidance firm y-o-y
  
  
• Company aims to boost output by 15 mnt over 2023-25
  
  

Mysteel Global: Global mining giant Rio Tinto has set its annual guidance for iron ore shipments from its Pilbara operations in Western Australia at 323-338 million tonnes (mnt) (on a 100% basis) for 2025, unchanged from that in 2024, according to an announcement on 4 December.

During the first three quarters of this year, the world's top iron ore producer shipped 242.9 mnt of the same from its Pilbara mines, 1% lower than the same period last year.

Additionally, the miner is on track to improve its iron ore production by a cumulative 15 mnt during 2023-25, with an annual increase of 5 mnt each year, according to the release.

Particularly, Rio Tinto expects its Simandou iron ore project in Guinea to deliver its first ore next year as scheduled, citing significant progress made in the construction of mine, port, and rail infrastructure. Full production capacity will be reached by 2028, Rio Tinto added.

The company also plans to lift its copper production to 780,000-850,000 tonnes (t) in 2025, compared with this year's guidance of 660,000-720,000 t, the release showed.

In addition to improving its production performance, Rio Tinto is also committed to decarbonisation projects, with at least $5-6 million to be invested in such initiatives by 2030, according to the announcement.

As for Brazilian mining giant Vale, it recently announced plans to raise its iron ore production guidance for 2025 to 325-335 mnt, higher than the 323-330-mnt target set for this year.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.