Rio Tinto's H1 iron ore shipments drop 5% YoY

Rio Tinto's iron ore shipments in Q1 were severely affected by several cyclones which caused flooding and disrupted logistics, as reported. As a result, Rio Tinto still posted declines in its H1 ore shipments, despite a significant recovery in Q2 where shipments jumped by 13% on quarter to reach 79.9 million tonnes (on a 100% basis).

The company has kept the guidance for its Pilbara shipments in 2025 unchanged at 323-338 million tonnes but continues to expect to reach the lower end of the range, the report noted. 

On the other hand, the Australian mining giant's iron ore production for the first half of 2025 fell by 2.5% from the previous year to 153.5 million tonnes (on a 100% basis), also due to the extreme weather events in Q1, the report indicated. 

Nonetheless, the company achieved the highest Q2 production since 2018 after mine operations improved strongly from Q1's weather impacts. Output during April-June reached 83.7 million tonnes, which was higher by 20% from the January-March quarter and 5% from the same period last year, the report showed.

The gap between iron ore production and shipments during the April-June quarter was larger than usual, with the latter being 3.9 million tonnes below the former. Port maintenance in Q1 was postponed to Q2 due to the cyclones, affecting the loading efficiency, the miner explained, adding that some work remains to be completed in Q3.

Regarding price, Rio Tinto's average realized price of Pilbara iron ore averaged $82.5/wmt FOB in the first half of the year, much lower than the $97.3/wmt average recorded during the corresponding period last year, the report disclosed.

The latest progress on the Simandou project in Guinea was updated in the report, with the first shipment from the project accelerated to around November this year, and 0.5-1 million tonnes of shipments expected for 2025, it said. The Simandou mine, located in Guinea's southern Nzérékoré Region, is one of the most easily exploitable iron ore deposits outside of the Pilbara region and Brazil, Rio Tinto has said in the past, with proven and probable resources at 2.76 billion tonnes and an Fe content grading at around 65.5%.

In its Q2 statement, the Australian iron ore mining giant also announced that shipments commenced this month of its new Pilbara Blend Fines product, whose iron content is reduced from 61.6% to 60.8% on average, as reported, Meanwhile, Simon Trott, the company's current Iron Ore Chief Executive, has been appointed as Chief Executive, with effect from August 25.

Written by Irene Zhuang, zhuangailing@mysteel.com

Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com