Australia’s iron ore miners can weather China slump, Rio Tinto says

Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm insists Australia’s big iron ore miners are in a stronger position to ride out any deeper falls in commodity prices, benefitting from lower operating costs than global competitors, as China’s faltering economic recovery intensifies doubts about demand.

Mining giants Rio Tinto, BHP and Fortescue Metals Group, which earned record prices for cargoes of the steel-making raw material iron ore in 2021, are facing a less-certain outlook this year as China’s economic growth slows and conditions in its property sector deteriorate.