Rio Tinto on track to release $5 billion in capital after stronger Q3 iron ore sales

By Rajasik Mukherjee

Oct 14 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto said on Wednesday it was on track to release about $5 billion in capital by the end of 2026, after strong mine performance helped lift third-quarter iron ore sales from its Pilbara operations above market expectations.

The world's largest iron ore producer sold 85.7 million metric tons of the steel-making commodity from Pilbara in the quarter ended September 30, up 2% from a year earlier and ahead of a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 84.41 million tons.

The miner said it had already released more than $2 billion in capital this year under a $5 billion-$10 billion optimisation programme unveiled at its 2025 Capital Markets Day, aimed at supporting higher-return growth projects.

Rio shares were volatile in early trade, rising as much as 0.9% before reversing course to trade 0.2% lower at A$160.67 by 0017 GMT.

Copper output was broadly flat at 205,000 tons as a 27% rise at Mongolia's Oyu Tolgoi mine offset lower production at Chile's Escondida and weaker refined copper output from Kennecott in the United States.

Rio maintained its 2026 Pilbara iron ore sales forecast of 323 million to 338 million tons. It has shipped 243.4 million tons so far this year, implying it needs to ship 79.6 million tons in the fourth quarter to reach the lower end of the target range. The fourth quarter is typically Rio's strongest period.

In lithium, Rio said full-year production was now expected at the lower end of its 61,000-64,000 ton forecast range, citing a slower-than-anticipated ramp-up at its Sal de Vida project in Argentina.

Rio's Simandou project in Guinea sold 1.7 million wet metric tons of iron ore in the first nine months. To meet the lower end of its full-year sales forecast of 5 million-10 million tons, the project will need to sell about 3.3 million tons in the December quarter.

(Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee & Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Subhranshu Sahu)