RIO Tinto said higher fuel costs stemming from the US-Israeli conflict with Iran have raised its current costs and will continue to weigh on full-year results, even as the miner posted stronger-than-expected second-quarter iron ore sales, Reuters reported.
The company said energy costs had lifted the broader iron ore cost curve, hitting suppliers with greater exposure to diesel prices particularly hard. Rio kept its 2026 Pilbara iron ore unit cash cost outlook unchanged despite the pressure, said the newswire.
It reported no material disruption so far to production or outbound supply chains, but said it was monitoring the Strait of Hormuz and maintaining contingency plans for further disruption to energy or logistics markets.
On production, Rio sold 85.3 million tons of iron ore from its Pilbara operations in the second quarter, beating the Visible Alpha consensus of 83.6Mt and up from 79.9Mt a year earlier. First-half sales reached 157.7Mt, 5% above last year, though the miner will need a stronger second half to meet its 2026 target of 323 to 338Mt.
Shares rose as much as 2.8% to a one-week high, outperforming a broader mining index up nearly 2%.
Quarterly copper production fell 7% to 213,000t, missing forecasts, due to weaker output at Kennecott and Escondida. Rio lowered its 2026 copper unit cost forecast on higher gold prices and productivity improvements.
