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Rio Tinto posts 5% rise in first-quarter iron ore shipments, keeps aluminium production forecast steady

Published: 10:30 18 Apr 2018 BST

Iron Ore
Rio Tinto shipped 80.3mln tonnes of iron ore in the quarter ended March 31, up from 76.7mln tonnes a year earlier

Rio Tinto PLC has reported a 5% rise in first-quarter iron ore shipments and has kept its forecast for aluminium production steady despite the US sanctions imposed on its Russian partner Rusal earlier this month.

However, the FTSE 100-listed miner flagged possible future changes to its 2018 aluminum output having declared force majeure on some customer contracts because of the Rusal sanctions move.

READ: Rio Tinto declares record dividend and US$1bn buyback as full year profits jump 69%

Rio Tinto said its 2018 aluminium output forecast of 3.5mln to 3.7mln tonnes would also face adjustments following the sale of its Icelandic and French aluminum smelters.

In iron ore, the world’s second-biggest supplier of the steel-making ingredient, said it shipped 80.3mln tonnes in the quarter ended March 31, up from 76.7mln tonnes a year earlier.

Rio Tinto’s chief executive J-S Jacques said "We delivered a solid operational performance across most commodities in the first quarter of 2018.

“Our world-class Pilbara iron ore assets continue to demonstrate flexibility and the benefits of increased productivity, and production at our bauxite and copper assets was also higher.”

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