Rio Tinto iron-ore, coal production hit by heavy rains

Diversified giant Rio Tinto has seen production decline across its asset portfolio, as the Western Australia and Queensland operations were impacted by wet weather conditions during the three months to March. Iron-ore production from the Pilbara operations declined by 10% compared with the previous quarter, reaching 77.2-million tonnes during the first quarter ended March, while iron-ore shipments were down 13% in the same period to 76.7-million tonnes.