Rio Tinto recovers from cyclone impacts but cops $460m blow on US aluminium tariffs
Exports of key steel-making material iron ore reached 79.9 million tonnes for the three months ended June 30, down one per cent from the same period last year, and slightly below analyst expectations.
Shipments jumped 13 per cent from the first quarter, when four cyclones impacted ports servicing WA's mining hub the Pilbara.
Iron ore achieved its highest second-quarter production level since 2018, turning out 83.7mt — up 20 per cent on the first quarter and 5 per cent from the same period a year ago.
The company, which on Tuesday named iron ore boss Simon Trott as its new CEO, still relies on the steelmaking material for about 80 per cent of its underlying earnings. It seeks to boost production in the Pilbara while bringing its massive Simfer mine at the Simandou project in Guinea online this year.
While Rio maintained full-year iron ore export guidance at between 323mt and 338mt, it said shipments would likely be at the lower end due to the impact of the cyclones. First exports from Simandou are expected in November.
The miner is also pursuing growth in commodities key for the energy transition, namely its new lithium business as well as expansions in copper and aluminium production.
Over 2025's first half, Rio incurred about $US300 million ($460m) of gross costs due to the US tariffs on aluminium exports from Canada. it said.
Rio's large copper business continued a strong performance, with output up 15 per cent on the same time a year ago. This was mainly thanks to a ramp up at the company's massive Oyu Tolgoi underground copper mine in Mongolia.
The company had 'record production from our bauxite business and from Oyu Tolgoi as it ramps up to become the world's fourth-largest copper mine before the end of the decade', Mr Stausholm said in the statement.
Bauxite and aluminium production gained 6 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively.
Rio's solid production performance comes amid an increasingly volatile business environment, with geopolitical tensions and trade barriers creating ongoing near-term economic risks, it said in the statement. In biggest customer China, 'headwinds such as trade tensions and a soft property market continue to pose challenges,' it said.
For the US, 'the impact of tariffs is still feeding through to inflation and sentiment', Rio said. 'The housing market continues to be weak and building activities have been hampered by elevated mortgage rates and reduced labour supply.'
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West Australian
a day ago
- West Australian
A brewery in Brazil to sharpening up iron ore giant's operations, CME winner ‘wakes up and shows up'
A winner from last year's cohort of the Women in Resources Awards believes female role models are still crucial in the mining industry, as nominations for this year's contest kicks off. A guiding value from her family back in Brazil to 'wake up and show up' has gone a long way for Rio Tinto superintendent Amanda de Azevedo Marques. Her journey from a public school in Brazil, to coming up with solutions for beer brewing, to packing up and moving to Perth to learn English and study has been a long one, but one she wanted to do for her family. 'It was a feeling that 'we didn't have the chance, now you have it. So make sure it's worth it',' she told The West Australian. 'I came from a family that didn't have much resources. My grandparents were farmers. My granddad never learnt to read and write. . . even though my family has never been heavily educated, they value education a lot.' Ms Azevedo Marques's work sharpening up mine logistics for one of the world's biggest iron ore miners landed her the Technical Innovation Award at the Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA Women in Resources Awards last year. The software she helped advance makes better use of Rio's train network by factoring in how busy or productive a site is, ultimately reducing the amount of times mining operations have to stop due to transport constraints. Asked why she felt it was important women have the opportunity to be recognised in these sorts of awards, Ms Azevedo Marques said they provided a platform that 'shows what we are already doing'. 'I have a lot of colleagues that are extremely brilliant. We don't see them if there is not a platform where we can see them.' It comes as CME adds an eighth category looking to recognise women who have played a key role delivering significant projects or initiatives. CME chief executive Rebecca Tomkinson said the new award had been created to bridge the gap between women at the start of their career and senior leaders. 'We felt like there was an opportunity to focus on women who are mid-career and doing incredible things but didn't really fit into any of the existing categories,' she said. 'WIRA is cementing itself as a powerful platform to share the remarkable stories of the women driving operational excellence.' Nominations for the CME's 17th annual awards opened last week.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- News.com.au
Lunch Wrap: Stocks slip lower at lunch, market operator ASX plunges as monopoly under threat
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Perth Now
4 days ago
- Perth Now
Union alarm as mining giant mulls sick leave overhaul
Thousands of iron ore workers could have their sick leave entitlements slashed, a union claims. Rio Tinto has proposed a slew of changes to its sick leave policy, including reducing workers' entitlement of 90 days per year to 12 days, the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union said. The proposals raised serious concerns for workers and the mining giant needed to provide more information, AMWU state secretary Steve McCartney said. "Rio Tinto is starting with workers' sick leave entitlements — but who's to say wages and broader conditions aren't next on the chopping block?" he said. "The union will be standing firm in defence of our members' rights." The union said workers had told them Rio Tinto had not provided enough detail about the proposed changes. "That's not good enough," Mr McCartney said. "We'll support them every step of the way to ensure they're protected throughout this process." According to the union, the revised policy includes 10 days of sick leave and two additional days per year, which do not accrue year-on-year Workers will be eligible for a $1000 annual payment for wellness programs, it said. "This is a warning to all employees and contractors — if a company like Rio Tinto can unilaterally alter leave, it could just as easily move on pay and other conditions," Mr McCartney said. Rio Tinto said it was consulting with its employees over proposed changes to its sick and carer's leave policy for its iron ore business. "Safety and wellbeing of our people is our top priority," a spokeswoman said. "Prompted by feedback from our people survey, we are conducting a review of the sick and carer's leave policy for Rio Tinto Iron Ore." The company said the proposed changes were designed to ensure fairness for all employees. "This includes up to 12 months of sick and carer's leave at full pay, including allowances, in the event of serious illness or injury, which we believe would be industry leading," the spokeswoman said. Rio Tinto Iron Ore employs about 16,000 people. Under the National Employment Standards, full-time employees are entitled to 10 days of sick leave each year.
