Iron ore shipments from Pilbara operations declined 1% on the year to 82.9 million tonnes for the July-September quarter in results released Tuesday. Rio Tinto now expects full-year shipments to be “at the low end” of the range of 320 million to 335 million tonnes projected as of August.

The company said it sees “further downside risks to demand” for iron ore and other resources “as the global economy slows”.

Rio Tinto took a bleak view on China, where it generated more than half of its revenue in 2021. The report pointed out that “slowing global demand poses downside risks to China’s strong exports, while consumers remain cautious of the property market,” referring to the steel-intensive sector.

“Production improved versus the prior quarter across most of our sites,” CEO Jakob Stausholm said in the report. The company will “continue to deliver our strategy with decarbonisation at its centre”, he said.

Under plans announced last week, Rio Tinto is partnering with the Canadian government to invest up to 737 million Canadian dollars (US$535 million) in such areas as decarbonising titanium operations in Quebec.