Cyclones Impact Rio Tinto Q1 Pilbara Production And Shipment By 13 Millions Tonnes, Trigger $95 Million Recovery Plan

Rio Tinto Plc RIO on Wednesday reported a decline in Pilbara iron ore production of 10% year-over-year (Y/Y) to 69.8Mt.

Pilbara iron ore shipments (consolidated basis) decreased 8% Y/Y to 62.5Mt in the quarter.

Severe weather conditions impacted both production and shipment, with four cyclones collectively causing an estimated loss of approximately 13 million tonnes.

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Meanwhile, production of Bauxite rose 12% Y/Y to 15.0MT and Alumina upped 3% Y/Y to 1.9Mt in the quarter.

Outlook: For FY25, Rio reiterated guidance for Bauxite production of 57 to 59MT and Alumina production of 7.4 to 7.8MT.

The company now projects Pilbara iron ore shipments to reach the lower end of the previously issued guidance of 323-338MT, primarily due to the losses sustained from four cyclones in the first quarter.

To address about half of this shortfall, the company has implemented mitigation strategies that will require an additional investment of roughly A$150 million ($95.5 million), covering rectification efforts and contracted mining services.

Moreover, the company continues to anticipate its share of capital investment of ~$11 billion in 2025.

Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said, "We continued to see strong operational improvement with the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine and our bauxite operations delivering record months for production in March. Production was affected, however, by extreme weather events that impacted our Pilbara iron ore operations."

"We achieved first iron ore at Western Range in the Pilbara and the Simandou high-grade iron ore project in Guinea remains on track. After successful completion of the Arcadium acquisition in March, we are advancing to establish a world-class lithium business."

Last month, the company invested $1.8 billion to develop the Brockman Syncline 1 (BS1) mine in Western Australia's West Pilbara.

Investors can gain exposure to the stock via VanEck Steel ETF SLX and NEOS ETF Trust Mast Global Battery Recycling & Production ETF EV.

Price Action: RIO shares are up 0.45% to $57.52 premarket at the last check Wednesday.

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