Rio Tinto plc is a UK-based metals and mining company operating in several segments: Iron Ore, Aluminium, Copper, Corporate, and Minerals. The Company has an integrated portfolio of iron ore assets, which includes a network of 17 mines, four independent port terminals, and a rail network spanning approximately 2,000 km. The Aluminium business includes 4 bauxite mines in Australia, Brazil, and Guinea; 4 alumina refineries in Australia, Brazil, and Canada; 14 aluminum smelters in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Oman; 7 hydropower plants in Canada. The Copper segment includes 3 copper operations in the US, Mongolia, and Chile; 3 copper projects in the US, Mongolia, and Australia. The compan... Rio Tinto plc is a UK-based metals and mining company operating in several segments: Iron Ore, Aluminium, Copper, Corporate, and Minerals. The Company has an integrated portfolio of iron ore assets, which includes a network of 17 mines, four independent port terminals, and a rail network spanning approximately 2,000 km. The Aluminium business includes 4 bauxite mines in Australia, Brazil, and Guinea; 4 alumina refineries in Australia, Brazil, and Canada; 14 aluminum smelters in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Oman; 7 hydropower plants in Canada. The Copper segment includes 3 copper operations in the US, Mongolia, and Chile; 3 copper projects in the US, Mongolia, and Australia. The company produces gold, silver, molybdenum, and other as by-products. The Minerals segment includes 4 sectors: borates, titanium dioxide, iron ore, and diamonds. The commercial segment encompasses global sales and marketing, procurement, and marine and logistics operations. Rio Tinto is present in 35 countries. Read more

In 2021, the global production of usable iron ore was estimated at 2.6bt compared to 2.47bt in 2020. The largest iron ore-producing countries are Australia (c 900mt pa), Brazil (380mt), China (360mt), India (240mt), and Russia (100mt). Australia is the leading exporter of iron ore (53.6% of the global exports in 2021), followed by South Africa (4.7%), Canada (3.7%), Ukraine, Brazil, and others. Economic growth in China, the largest market for iron ore exports, was supportive of the miners' performance in 2021. However, crude steel production in the 64 largest steelmaking countries fell by 5.1% YoY to 1,253.9mt in January-August 2022, including a 5.7% decrease in crude steel output in China to 693.2mt. Lockdown in China and weak performance of the real estate sector were among the factors affecting the steelmakers and iron ore demand. Iron ore price was corrected from above $230/t in May 2021 to below $100/t in September 2022. Most of the metals were affected by the negative economic background in 2022 and demonstrated a negative price dynamic as of 27 September 2022: gold -6% YTD, silver -17%, copper -21%, steel -32%, HRC steel -58%, platinum -11%, aluminium -27%, tin -45%, zinc -5%. Among winners are nickel +16%, titanium +54% on the back of Russian supply risk, and lithium carbonate for battery use in China +193%.