Increased Chinese policy measures, reduced global recession anxieties and a general slowdown in inflation have already lent backing to commodity prices in the fourth quarter, the iron-ore mining major states in its December quarter results, presented by CEO Jakob Stausholm on Tuesday.
An improvement in the Chinese economy, which is the world’s biggest user of steel, is crucial for Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron-ore business, which last year achieved its second-highest iron-ore shipment year on record.
Total Pilbara shipments, on a 100% basis, increased to 331.8-million tonnes, supported by the implementation of the Safe Production System and the ramp up of the Gudai-Darri mine to its 43-million-tonne nameplate capacity.
Rio Tinto aims to boost Gudai-Darri’s iron-ore production capacity to 50-million tonnes a year through incremental productivity gains, with a planned investment of $70-million.
