Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto said it managed to hit its iron ore export targets after a solid showing in the final quarter where it shipped a record 90m tonnes, up from 85.8m tonnes in the previous three months.
Rio said it would ship 330m tonnes of ore from its Pilbara operations in 2017, a rise of 1%.

Pilbara shipments in 2018 are expected to be between 330m - 340m tonnes, subject to market conditions, any weather constraints, and continued rail maintenance required in 2018.

The company said it received an average price of almost $65 a a tonne for its iron ore in 2017.

"The business performed well in the fourth quarter, and we finished the year in line with guidance across all major products," said Rio's chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques.

RIO said the automation of the 1,700 km Pilbara train system continued to make strong progress with more than than 60% of all train kilometres now completed in autonomous mode with a driver on board for supervision. The project is on schedule to be completed by the end of 2018.

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