TORONTO, July 19,
2023 /CNW/ - Rio Tinto released its operations
review for the second quarter ending June
30, 2023, which included Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) production and sales information.
Specifically, Rio Tinto announced that in the second quarter of
2023, IOC had total saleable iron ore production of 3.51 million
tonnes, comprised of 1.61 million tonnes of pellets and 1.91
million tonnes of concentrate for sale (CFS). Rio Tinto also
announced that IOC had total iron ore sales in the second quarter
of 2023 of 4.43 million tonnes, comprised of 2.30 million tonnes of
pellets and 2.12 million tonnes of CFS. Comparisons to prior
quarters and Rio Tinto's commentary on the changes can be found in
Rio Tinto's quarterly operational report which is posted on their
website. Please note that the IOC sales tonnages are calculated
slightly differently for the Labrador Iron Ore Royalty
Corporation's (LIORC) royalty.
IOC's total saleable production (CFS plus pellets) for the six
months ending June 30, 2023 was 7.82
million tonnes. Rio Tinto announced that IOC lost ~3.5 weeks of
production in June, primarily due to wildfires in Northern Quebec, together with a slightly
extended shutdown. Operations at IOC have resumed, however Rio
Tinto's full year production guidance for IOC has been reduced to
17.0 to 18.7 million tonnes (previously 17.9 to 19.6 million
tonnes), and production remains subject to further disruption from
fire conditions.
LIORC will be releasing its full second quarter report after the
market close on August 2, 2023.
About Labrador Iron Ore Royalty
Corporation
The Corporation holds a 15.10% equity interest in IOC directly
and through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Hollinger-Hanna Limited,
and receives a 7% gross overriding royalty and a 10 cent per tonne commission on all iron ore
products produced, sold and shipped by IOC.
Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release may contain "forward-looking" statements that
involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the
actual results, performance or achievements to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Words such
as "may", "will", "expect", "believe", "plan", "intend", "should",
"would", "anticipate" and other similar terminology are intended to
identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect
current assumptions and expectations regarding future events and
operating performance as of the date of this press release.
Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and
uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future
performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate
indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. A
number of factors could cause actual results to vary significantly,
including iron ore price and volume volatility; the performance of
IOC; market conditions in the steel industry; fluctuations in the
value of the Canadian and U.S. dollar; mining risks that cause a
disruption in operations and availability of insurance; disruption
in IOC's operations caused by natural disasters, severe weather
conditions and public health crises, including the COVID-19
outbreak; failure of information systems or damage from cyber
security attacks; adverse changes in domestic and global economic
and political conditions; changes in government regulation and
taxation; national, provincial and international laws, regulations
and policies regarding climate change that further limit the
emissions of greenhouse gases or increase the costs of operations
for IOC or its customers; changes affecting IOC's customers;
competition from other iron ore producers; renewal of mining
licences and leases; relationships with indigenous groups;
litigation; and uncertainty in the estimates of reserves and
resources. A discussion of these factors is contained in LIORC's
annual information form dated March 7,
2023 under the heading, "Risk Factors". Although the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release are
based upon what management of LIORC believes are reasonable
assumptions, LIORC cannot assure investors that actual results will
be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press
release and LIORC assumes no obligation, except as required by law,
to update any forward-looking statements to reflect new events or
circumstances. This press release should be viewed in conjunction
with LIORC's other publicly available filings, copies of which can
be obtained electronically on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
SOURCE Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corporation