Rio Tinto says US tariffs added $300m in costs on Canadian aluminium

(Sharecast News) - Rio Tinto on Wednesday revealed that US tariffs added $300m in first half costs on aluminium exports from Canada. While a "substantial" part of the extra cost was offset by higher premiums on US sales when the 25% tariff was introduced in March, the premium could no longer fully compensate when President Donald Trump doubled duties on Canadian aluminium to 50% in June.

The mining giant also said annual copper production was now expected to be at the higher end of estimates after a 13% rise in output during the second quarter due to the successful ramp up of the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine and good performance at Escondida.

Pilbara iron ore operation achieved its highest Q2 production since 2018, recovering from extreme weather in the previous three months, but Rio said it still expected shipments to be at the lower end of guidance.

Rio said it expected copper full year unit costs to be around the lower end of its guidance range due to "good cost control, production volumes at the higher end of the full year guidance range and higher than expected gold prices driving net costs down".

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com