Rio Tinto reports record iron ore sales
Global miner Rio Tinto brushed off fears of a global economic crisis reporting record iron ore sales and a five per cent jump in output for the third quarter, and forecasting continued strong commodities demand.
The bullish production numbers and comments boosted shares in Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest miner of the steel-making commodity, and appeared to dampen investor concerns over the economic vulnerability of its biggest market, China.
“We are operating at full capacity, selling all we produce and our growth programme is on track, supported by the strength of our balance sheet,” chief executive Tom Albanese said in the company’s quarterly production report.
“Whilst we are mindful of current market volatility, the fundamentals are holding up well, particularly for bulk-traded commodities,” he said.
Rio Tinto, second to Vale of Brazil in terms of iron ore output, maintained its 2011 forecast for record production of more than 240 million tonnes and said third-quarter output had jumped 5 percent to 64 million tonnes.