Rio Tinto (RIO) exceeded expectations for quarterly iron ore and copper production, reporting Wednesday that iron ore production at its core Pilbara operations hit a record and copper output increased due to the continued expansion of its operation at Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia.
Q4 shipments of iron ore, still Rio’s (RIO) biggest source of revenue by far, jumped 7% Y/Y to 91.3M metric tons, above the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 88.2M tons, while output rose by 4% to 89.7M tons, but full-year exports of 326.2M tons fell 1% and came in near the lower end of its forecast range of 323M-338M tons, "with a strong recovery from the extreme weather interruptions earlier in the year."
The company said mined copper production on a consolidated basis rose 5% Y/Y to 240K metric tons, above the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 214.4K tons, while annual output climbed 11% to 883K tons, topping its guidance of 860K-875K tons, driven by the continued underground ramp-up, higher grades and recovery rates at the Oyu Tolgoi mine.
Rio Tinto (RIO) disclosed earlier this month it is in talks with Glencore about a potential deal that could create the world's largest mining company, but the negotiations were not discussed in its quarterly update.

Published Date:2026-01-21