Rio Tinto predicts lowest iron ore production in 2019
Global Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto on Friday recorded a decline in quarterly iron ore production in December 2018 and said that next year, 2019, iron ore production may increase, but within a target range that is below analysts' forecast. < / p>
Due to lower shipments in the fourth quarter, Rio produced 86.6 million tonnes of iron ore, down one percent from a year earlier.
At the same time, the company's forecasts for this year's iron ore production at 338-350 million tonnes are in line with the upper limit of 348.8 million tonnes indicated in the Vuma consensus market expectations monitoring.
Overall, global miners are expected to ship less iron ore in the last quarter of 2018 than in 2017, but strong iron ore prices will provide sustainable revenues.
Rio shares are up 0.5 percent to AU $ 80.81 ($ 58.08) at 11:12 pm GMT.
Thanks to productivity growth at Rio, its iron ore shipments from Australia's Pilbara region increased two percent in 2018 compared to 2017 to 338.2 million tonnes, in line with the Vuma consensus of 339.2 million tonnes.
Rio formally invested $ 2.6 billion in November to develop a promising iron ore mine in the resource-rich Pilbara region to capitalize on China's growing demand for high-quality ore.
Rio's quarterly iron ore shipments from the Pilbara region fell 3 percent to 87.4 million tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2018.