Mining giant cuts iron production forecast

Rio Tinto lowered its iron ore shipment forecast for this year, citing labor constraints in its core Australian production region.

According to the statement made by Rio Tinto, the company expects shipments from Pilbara, an important iron ore production center in the state of Western Australia, to be between 320 million and 325 million tons for 2021. The previous expectation of the company was 325-340 million tons.

Rio Tinto, a British-Australian mining partnership, said in a statement that this down revision was due to "moderate delays" in the completion of some mining sites due to the "tight labor market" in Western Australia.