Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) posts record iron ore shipments for Q1FY23 amid but flags copper setbacks

• Rio Tinto’s (RIO) iron ore business posts record first-quarter shipments from Western Australia’s Pilbara region, up 16 per cent compared to the same time last year
• For the three months ending March 31, RIO shipped 82.5 million tonnes of iron ore, topping its prior 2018 first-quarter record of 80.3 million tonnes
• However, the surge in export volumes was marred by a downgrade to RIO’s copper production guidance due to challenges at its Kennecott and Escondida operations
• RIO’s bauxite production also experienced setbacks, but the company has maintained its guidance and says it will implement plans to recover lost production
• RIO shares are down 2.6 per cent, trading at $119.99 at 1:46 pm AEST

Rio Tinto’s (RIO) iron ore business has posted record first-quarter shipments from Western Australia’s Pilbara region, up 16 per cent compared to the same time last year.

For the three months ending March 31, RIO shipped 82.5 million tonnes of the steel-making material, topping its prior 2018 first-quarter record of 80.3 million tonnes.

“Through the ongoing deployment of our Safe Production System, we expect to see a sustainable lift in operating performance across our global portfolio over time, in line with improvements already achieved,” Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said.

However, the surge in export volumes was marred by a downgrade to RIO’s copper production guidance due to challenges at its Kennecott and Escondida operations.

At Kennecott, mined production was down 36 per cent on the prior corresponding period, with operations impacted by record snowfall and a breakdown of a conveyor belt that links the mine to the concentrator.

RIO expects this operational failure to reduce output until quarter three and, as such, has lowered its mined copper guidance for 2023 to 590,000 to 640,000 tonnes, down from 650,000 to 710,000 thousand tonnes.

Similarly, the company’s bauxite production from its Weipa operations in Queensland was affected by higher-than-average rainfall as well as equipment downtime, which also disrupted its Gove operations.

This saw bauxite production down 11 per cent compared to 2022.

However, the company said it maintained its production guidance in this space and would implement plans to recover lost production.

Mr Stausholm said RIO was focused on “disciplined growth” in materials the world needed for the energy transition, as evidenced by the first production from its underground mine at Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia and the progression of early works at the Rincon lithium project in Argentina.

In other news, RIO shareholders will receive their US$2.25 (A$3.36) per share dividend today. It equates to an $11.9 billion payout for the year.

RIO shares were down 2.6 per cent and trading at $119.99 at 1:46 pm AEST.