Rio eyes iron ore prize
RIO Tinto (ASX: RIO) looks set to take top spot as 2019’s largest iron ore exporter. Its Q3 results show that, after bouncing back from the June blow-out that saw the company lower its iron ore guidance for the second time in the year, the miner shipped 86.1mt of iron ore, up 5pc on Q3 2018, with 87.3mt coming from its Pilbara operations – 6pc higher than Q3 2018, and 10pc higher than Q2 2019 as the company bounced back from Q2. The company has not changed its iron ore guidance, indicating it would ship between 320-330mt in Q4, and said that its unit cost guidance remained between $14-$15/t. Rio has traditionally lagged behind Brazil’s Vale as the second largest…