Iron ore shipments from Rio Tinto's $RIO (+2,18 %) huge Australian mining operations are likely to be at the lower end of the mining company's estimates this year following the disruptions caused by four cyclones in recent months.
The mining group, which makes most of its profits from mining the steelmaking material in Australia's remote Pilbara region, said on Wednesday that it shipped 70.7 million tons of iron ore from these operations in the three months to March.
This is 9 percent less than in the same period last year and 17 percent less than in the immediately preceding quarter. It is the company's weakest first-quarter result since 2019.
Rio Tinto, the world's second-largest mining company by market value, was hit by disruption and damage from cyclones in northwest Australia in early 2025. The company recently estimated that it lost around 13 million tons of supply due to tropical cyclones Tahlia, Vince, Zelia and Sean.
The company said it still expects to ship between 323 and 338 million tons this year, confirming statements made in December. However, exports could be at the lower end of the range due to these losses.
The first quarter result disappointed analysts, who had expected shipments of around 73.3 million tons according to a consensus estimate compiled by Visible Alpha.