On July 17, Rio Tinto released its second quarter 2018 production results. According to the performance report, in the second quarter, the iron ore shipments in the Rio Pilbara region reached 88.5 million tons, 14% higher than the second quarter of 2017 and 10% higher than the first quarter of 2018. It is expected that the iron ore shipments in the Rio Pilbara region in 2018 will be at the high level of the existing guidance range of 330 million tons to 340 million tons.

According to news released by Rio Tinto, Rio Tinto first completed iron ore transportation in the Pilbara region with an unmanned automatic train. It is understood that this is an important milestone of the Rio Tinto automatic train project (AutoHaul), which was approved by the regulatory authorities in May this year. The Rio Tinto automatic train project is expected to be completed by the end of 2018. The implementation of this project will significantly enhance Rio Tinto's safety production performance and productivity, and will optimize the iron ore production and operation system by providing greater flexibility.