Rio Tinto's Simandou ramp-up gathers pace, UBS says satellite images show
Satellite imagery shows Rio Tinto Ltd is accelerating activity at the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, with shipments now under way and infrastructure close to completion. Shares in the FTSE 100 miner hit an all-time high of 7,421p on Thursday, up 0.7% on the day, 22% since the start of...
Rio Tinto Ltd(LSE:RIOASX:RIOOTC:RTNTF) View Price & Profile Rio Tinto's Simandou ramp-up gathers pace, UBS says satellite images show
Published: 10:32 12 Feb 2026 EST
Satellite imagery shows Rio Tinto Ltd is accelerating activity at the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, with shipments now under way and infrastructure close to completion.
Shares in the FTSE 100 miner hit an all-time high of 7,421p on Thursday, up 0.7% on the day, 22% since the start of 2026 and 47% since this time last year.
UBS, which has a 12-month price target of 6,900p and rates the stock 'neutral', said the project appears “slightly ahead of schedule”, with around 1 million tonnes of iron ore shipped since December 2025.
Shipping frequency has picked up from one vessel every three weeks in December to roughly one per week in February. That implies a run rate of about 11 million tonnes per annum.
Rio said in its fourth quarter update that train loading at the Simfer mine, covering Blocks 3 and 4, began in October, with the first shipment from the WCS port in December.
Fourth quarter mine gate production reached 2.3 million tonnes on a 100% basis, with sales expected from the first quarter of 2026.
UBS satellite images show ore stockpiles building at Maribaya port and at the mine gate.
Rail infrastructure is nearing completion, while permanent crushing facilities are advancing, with completion targeted in the second half of 2026.