Rio Tinto's iron ore shipments, output fall in Q4; sees 2025 Pilbara production flat YOY

Diversified global miner Rio Tinto Group produced 86.5 million mt of iron ore from its Pilbara operations in Western Australia during the fourth quarter, declining 1% year over year, while shipments fell to 85.7 million mt.

Full-year 2024 production out of Pilbara decreased 1% year over year to 328 million mt of iron ore as productivity improvements did not fully offset depletion, mainly at the Yandicoogina and Paraburdoo mines, the company said Jan. 16. Shipments also fell 1% to 328.6 million mt.

Rio Tinto's operations in eastern Canada produced 2.5 million mt of iron ore pellets and concentrate in the last quarter, decreasing 6% year over year. Full-year output from the unit fell 2% to 9.4 million mt due to an 11-day shutdown caused by forest fires in July and operational challenges in the mine and concentrator throughout the year.

"[T]he Simandou high-grade iron ore project in Guinea and our Western Range mine in the Pilbara are on schedule for first production this year," CEO Jakob Stausholm said.

Rio Tinto maintained its guidance for Pilbara iron ore production for 2025 at 2024 levels, in the range of 323 million-328 million mt.

Nonferrous operations

Rio Tinto's Q4 mined copper output increased 26% to 202,000 mt while full-year production jumped 13% to 697,000 mt.

Geotechnical challenges that impacted mining sequence at the Kennecott copper mine in Utah were offset by a ramp-up at Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia and higher output from the Escondida mine in Chile, the company said.

The company produced 837,000 mt of aluminum in the quarter ended Dec. 31, falling 1% year over year. Aluminum output for full-year 2024 increased 1% to 3.3 million mt, following a ramp-up of the Kitimat smelter in Canada, completion of cell recovery efforts at the Boyne smelter in Australia in 2023, and increased ownership of New Zealand Aluminium Smelters.

Bauxite production improved 2% year over year to 15.4 million mt during Q4, while output for the full year increased 7% to 58.7 million mt. This was driven by record annual output at the Amrun and Gove operations in Australia, the company said.

Rio Tinto now expects bauxite and alumina production to rise in 2025 from 2024 levels. Aluminum output is seen slightly improving to 3.25 million-3.45 million mt in 2025, it said.