Rio Tinto releases third quarter 2026 production results

14 October 2026

Strong operational performance at Oyu Tolgoi copper and Pilbara iron ore

MELBOURNE, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rio Tinto Chief Executive Simon Trott said: “We delivered strong operational performance in the third quarter. Oyu Tolgoi copper production increased 29% year-to-date, with the operation running at a ~450 kt annualised rate in the quarter, and global iron ore sales are up 3% year-to-date. The Simandou iron ore mine hit an annualised production run-rate of ~10 Mtpa (100% basis) in the quarter as the project continues to ramp up.

“We are finishing the year with momentum, with significant opportunities to accelerate improvements in safety, productivity and reliability through implementation of our operating system. We remain on track for a $1.8 billion annualised productivity benefit run-rate by the end of 2026. Our major projects remain on schedule and budget, underwriting our growth profile to 2030.

“We made further significant steps in decarbonising our business in the third quarter, with our Pacific Aluminium smelter repowering arrangements now well progressed.

“Today, we announce that we have achieved more than $2 billion1 of capital release year-to-date, as we actively manage our portfolio with discipline to maximise long-term value, as part of the $5 to 10 billion capital release program.”

Executive Summary

  • Operational excellence: ~1% YTD increase in copper equivalent (CuEq2) production, driven by growth from Oyu Tolgoi copper and Pilbara iron ore.
  • Copper: Oyu Tolgoi production increased by 27% YoY in Q3 and 29% YTD. At Kennecott, we successfully completed the rebuild of the flash converting furnace at end-August ahead of plan.
  • Iron ore: Q3 global iron ore sales were 90.8 Mt, up 3% YoY, while Pilbara sales increased 2% YoY. Simandou hit an annualised production run-rate of ~10 Mtpa (100% basis) in Q3 as the project ramps up and remains on track to reach a 60 Mtpa production run-rate during H2 20283.
  • Aluminium: Consistent, stable performance across the full operating system. Pacific smelter repowering arrangements are now well progressed, following the Tomago and Bell Bay power agreements in Q3.
  • Lithium: Production up 33% YTD despite adverse weather impacting Q3 operations. Fenix 1B ramp-up continues to progress well.

Production and sales⁴

Quarter 3
2026

vs Q3
2025

vs Q2
2026

9mths
2026

vs 9mths
2025

2026
guidance¹²

Guidance
status

Copper production (consolidated basis) (kt)

205

 

0%

 

-4%

 

646

 

+1%

 

800-870

Unchanged

Global iron ore production⁵ (100% basis) (Mt¹¹)

89.7

 

+2%

 

+3%

 

259.6

 

+4%

 

NA

NA

Pilbara iron ore production (100% basis) (Mt¹¹)

83.4

 

-1%

 

0%

 

245.7

 

+3%

 

NA

NA

Global iron ore sales⁶ (100% basis) (Mt¹¹)

90.8

 

+3%

 

+2%

 

255.3

 

+3%

 

343-366

Unchanged

Pilbara iron ore sales⁷ (100% basis) (Mt¹¹)

85.7

 

+2%

 

0%

 

243.3

 

+4%

 

323-338

Unchanged

Bauxite production (Mt)

15.7

 

-4%

 

+4%

 

44.2

 

-6%

 

58-61

Unchanged

Alumina production⁸ (Mt)

2.1

 

+10%

 

+3%

 

6.1

 

+9%

 

7.6-8.0

Unchanged

Aluminium production⁹ (Mt)

0.8

 

-2%

 

0%

 

2.52

 

0%

 

3.25-3.45

Unchanged

Lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) production¹⁰ (kt)

13.0

 

+4%

 

-11%

 

40.3

 

+33%

 

61-64

Unchanged
at lower end

 

Footnotes

1 Announced year-to-date. Completion and cash receipt is subject to entry into binding agreements and satisfaction of conditions precedent. We remain on track to announce around $5 billion in total of capital release initiatives by end 2026.

2 Copper equivalent (CuEq) volume = Rio Tinto’s share of production volume / Volume conversion factor x Product price ($/t) / Copper price ($/t). Prices are based on long-term consensus prices.

3 The estimated annualised capacity of approximately 60 million dry tonnes per annum iron ore for the Simandou life of mine schedule was previously reported in a release to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) dated 6 December 2023 titled “Investor Seminar Presentation”. Rio Tinto confirms that all material assumptions underpinning that production target continue to apply and have not materially changed.

4 Rio Tinto share unless otherwise stated.

5 Iron Ore production for Pilbara operations and Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) refers to saleable production (after crushing, screening and beneficiation). For Simandou, it represents ore ready for train loading at the SimFer mine gate: final (tertiary) crushing of Simandou ore takes place in China.

6 Includes all shipments from Pilbara and IOC, including those to our Portside trading business; excludes shipments from our Portside trading business. At our Dec-2025 Capital Markets Day, we announced the move to guide on global iron ore sales (100%): indicated sales ranges (all on 100% basis) - Pilbara of 323 - 338 Mt, IOC of 15 - 18 Mt and Simandou of 5 - 10 Mt. For the Simandou value chain to China: at full production targeting a ~75-to-90-day cycle, with customer collection up to a further 30 days (mine to recognised sales).

7 Pilbara iron ore sales range remains subject to the timing of approvals for planned mining areas and heritage clearances.

8 QAL production included on a 100% basis.

9 Includes primary aluminium only.

10 Year-to-date 2025 represents production since March following completion of the Arcadium acquisition. Q1 2025 LCE production was 5.6kt (6.5kt on a 100% basis); LCE shipments were 3.8kt (5.0kt on a 100% basis).

11 Wet metric tonnes.

12 See further notes in Section 2, 2026 guidance.

The full third quarter production results are available here.

This announcement is authorised for release to the market by Matthew Whyte, Rio Tinto’s Group Company Secretary.

UK LEI: 213800YOEO5OQ72G2R82
AU LEI: 529900X2VMAQT2PE0V24

Classification: 3.1 Additional regulated information required to be disclosed under the laws of a Member State

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