Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) (LSE:RIO, ASX:RIO, OTC:RTNTF)second-quarter production was soft, say City analysts, with rail outages in Pilbara hitting the numbers though overall the update was steady enough.
Issues at the Kennecott copper mine were also a factor, but the reassurance on Rio’s major projects was a plus, said Citi.
Notably, Oyu Tolgoi’s underground copper project is on track to ramp up over the next two years and all necessary Simandou approvals have now been received.
Pricing was overall slightly ahead, although iron ore unit costs are expected at the upper end of the range in the first half with working capital to increase by around US$0.7bn
Citi said it has trimmed its 2024 and 205 earnings estimates by 2% with a target price unchanged at £60.
Shares rose by 0.4% to £50.89.