Rio Tinto posts Q1 spike in production

(Sharecast News) - Mining giant Rio Tinto posted a spike in copper and iron ore production on Tuesday, but left its full-year guidance unchanged amid increased geopolitical turmoil.

The Anglo-Australian miner saw a 9% increase in copper equivalent production in the first quarter, to 229,000 tonnes, boosted by the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia continuing to ramp up as planned.

Global iron ore production jumped 12% to 82.8m tonnes, with production at the Pilbara mining hub in Western Australia the second-highest first quarter since 2018. However, shipments from the complex were hit by two tropical cyclones.

The 2026 Pilbara iron ore sales forecast was maintained at between 323m and 338m tonnes.

Looking to the conflict in the Middle East, Rio Tinto said that on the supply-side, the direct impacts on its operations had so far been "limited", while commodity prices have responded favourably. It also confirmed that group production/sales guidance for 2026 as a whole was unchanged.

However, Rio Tinto acknowledged that it currently had "relatively limited visibility" of how the conflict will affect supply chains in the second half.

Chief executive Simon Trott said: "The unmatched mix and scale of our portfolio has ensured growth and supply chain resilience against changing operating conditions, as we continue to monitor the evolving situation in the Middle East.

"Our stronger, sharper, simpler way of working is enabling us to move at pace to achieve productivity benefits across the business."

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