Rio Tinto 3Q Iron Ore Sales Rise 3%, Guidance Unchanged

By David Winning

SYDNEY--Rio Tinto stuck with its annual forecast for global iron ore sales after a 3% on-year improvement in the three months through September, and signaled its operations have felt a limited impact from the Middle East conflict so far.

Rio Tinto said it sold 90.8 million metric tons of iron ore in its fiscal third quarter, dominated by its vast operations in Australia's Pilbara region. Management attributed the uplift to strong mine performance and healthy inventories of the steelmaking ingredient at ports.

The company reaffirmed expectations for global iron ore sales of 343 million-366 million tons in the 12 months through December, while keeping annual production guidance for the other commodities that it produces unchanged.

Rio Tinto reported copper output of 205,000 tons in its fiscal third quarter, led by 27% on-year growth at its Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia. Copper output for the first nine months of its fiscal year totaled 646,000 tons, up 1% on a year ago.

Chief Executive Simon Trott said the company's major projects remain on schedule and budget.

"Today, we announce that we have achieved more than $2 billion of capital release year-to-date, as we actively manage our portfolio with discipline to maximize long-term value," Trott said. This capital release is part of Rio Tinto's $5 billion-$10 billion capital release program.

Write to David Winning at david.winning@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 13, 2026 18:01 ET (22:01 GMT)