SYDNEY -- Mining majors Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton both foresee long-awaited upturns in iron ore production in the near future thanks to fresh demand from China, which is rolling out an ambitious economic stimulus program.
Both companies reported year-on-year declines in output of iron ore, the main material used to make steel, for the quarter ended March. Rio in particular was hammered by Tropical Cyclone Veronica, which damaged a Western Australia port late that month. First-quarter iron ore shipments sank 14% to 69.1 million tons, while production declined 9% to 76 million tons.
