Rio Tinto’s Iron Ore Stumble Came Just as Prices Surged
- Producer is shipping lower volumes of its flagship material
- Output issues were ‘lost opportunity,’ iron ore chief says
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Rio Tinto Group didn’t get the full benefits of the dramatic iron ore rally after missteps at key operations in Australia meant the No. 2 producer couldn’t extract its best ore when it was most needed.
Rio was forced to cut production at its flagship Pilbara operations in Western Australia earlier this year after falling behind with mine plans. Essentially, the company was producing too much lower-quality iron ore, forcing it to mine less rather than selling a sub-standard product to customers in China.