[miningmx.com] – RIO Tinto’s first quarter iron ore production rose to a record 52.3 million tonnes (mt) from 48.3mt a year earlier, said Bloomberg News citing the Anglo-Australian mining group’s operating figures published today.
The 8% increase in year-on-year iron ore production missed the 54.7mt median estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg after bad weather affected mines and ports, said the newswire service.
However, the production heightens concerns that the iron ore market is heading into an oversupply with Standard Bank saying in Johannesburg on April 14 that there could be as much as 100mt of excess iron ore.
“The interesting thing will be how he manages possible oversupply into China,’ Evan Lucas, a markets strategist with IG told Bloomberg News. “The question is whether or not they do get hit by price deceleration like we’ve seen over the last quarter.’
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