The Simfer mine in the project will ramp up over 30 months to an annualised capacity of 60 million tonnes (Mt) per year following the first output, the world's largest iron ore producer said on Wednesday.
Rio is also on track for first lithium production from its Rincon project in Argentina by the end of this year. The global miner recently agreed to buy Arcadium Lithium for USD 6.7 billion in a deal that will make it the world's third largest miner of the battery metal.
Shares of Rio fell as much as 2.1% to A$ 119.510 as of 2359 GMT before paring some losses - in line with broader mining index, which was down 0.8%.
The company shipped 84.5 Mt of the steel-making commodity from its Pilbara operations in the three months ended Sept. 30, helped by operational improvements.
That was largely in line with a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 84.74 Mt and higher than 83.9 Mt a year earlier.
Rio said that the unit cash costs for Pilbara iron ore for the year would be at the upper half of its forecast of USD 21.75 to USD 23.50 per tonne, reflecting higher inflation expectations.
Analysts at Citi said the production report was "disappointing," stating a higher outlook for Pilbara costs, ongoing issues at its Kennecott operations and impacts on IOC production from forest fires, among others.
Rio said iron ore production from its Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) operations fell 11% following site-wide shutdown due to forest fires in mid-July.
The company cut its IOC iron ore pellets and concentrate production forecast to 9.1 to 9.6 Mt for 2024 following the shutdowns.
Mined copper production was marginally lower as higher output from Escondida and Oyu Tolgoi were offset by a 44% drop in production from Kennecott due to operational snags.
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