Rio Tinto has slightly trimmed the full-year guidance for iron ore shipments from its main Pilbara operations in WA by up to five million tonnes, after port and rail maintenance affected shipments in the September quarter.
The world's second largest iron ore producer shipped 80.9 million tonnes from the WA operations in the three months ending September 30, down five per cent from a year earlier.
Quarterly production of the steelmaking ingredient was up two per cent to 83.2 million tonnes.
The company now expects to ship between 325 and 330 million tonnes from WA in 2016, compared to its previous target of 330 million tonnes. Another 20 million tonnes is expected to be shipped from its Canadian facilities.
"We have delivered strong quarterly production, underpinned by improving operational performance across our Tier 1 portfolio," chief executive Jean Sebastien Jacques said in a statement.
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"With a continued focus on value, we will seek further productivity improvements across the business."
The miner's operations had suffered weather disruptions during the first quarter of 2016, leaving it with needing to significantly lift production in the second half of the year.
Analysts had expected a slight improvement in September quarter production to about 85 million tonnes.
The company's thermal coal production declined two per cent to 5.4 million tonnes, while hard coking coal production jumped 17 per cent to 2.17 million tonnes.
Bauxite production was also up 10 per cent from a year ago to 12.42 million tonnes, while aluminium production rose 11 per cent to 924,000 tonnes.
