Rio Tinto Iron Ore Shipments Increase to 330 MnT in CY'17

World's second largest iron ore miner- Rio Tinto recorded iron ore shipments at 330.1 MnT for the year CY'17, an increase of 1% against CY'16. The shipments were in line with the laid guidance. Rio Tinto's Pilbara iron ore shipments were up 3% in Q4 CY'17 to 90 MnT as against Q4 CY16.It has witnessed a rise of 5% on a quarterly basis against Q3 CY'17 which stood at 85.8 MnT.

Rio Tinto's Pilbara iron ore production for the year CY'17 recorded at 329.8 MnT, stable on yearly basis. The Pilbara iron ore production recorded an increase of 3% Y-o-Y at 87.9 MnT for Q4 CY'17, as compared to Q4 CY'16 owing to the implementation of productivity projects across most sites. It has also recorded a rise of 3% Q-o-Q as compared to Q3 CY'17 which stood at 85 MnT.

The Silvergrass iron ore mine was commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2017 and will continue to ramp up in 2018.

Rio Tinto's iron ore & pellet concentrate production for the year CY'17 recorded an increase of 5% to 11.2 MnT.

Rio Tinto sets iron ore shipments guidance at 330-340 MnT for 2018

Rio Tinto's Pilbara shipments are expected to be between 330 to 340 MnT in 2018. This is subject to market conditions and any weather constraints and partly reflects continued rail maintenance required in 2018. It's estimated that the share of iron pellets & concentrates production for CY'18 will be around 11.5 to 12.5 million tonnes.