Uganda Coffee Exports Seen Higher as Prices Climb — Market Talk

By David Winning and Rhiannon Hoyle

SYDNEY--Rio Tinto and the mining business of billionaire Gina Rinehart will together invest $1.6 billion to develop two large iron-ore deposits in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

Rio Tinto said the Hope Downs 2 project, being developed in partnership with Hancock Prospecting, will include two new pits capable of producing a combined 31 million metric tons of iron ore each year. The mines and associated infrastructure are expected to be operational by 2027.

Iron ore from the new pits will be moved to the existing Hope Downs 1 operation for processing. Hope Downs 1 started production in 2007.

Rio Tinto said the new development will help it maintain production levels across the Pilbara by replacing output from mines that are nearly depleted.

The company, the world's second-largest miner by market value, expects to invest more than $13 billion in new mines, plant and equipment over the three years through 2027. Its share of the Hope Downs 2 investment will be $800 million.

"These projects are part of our strategy to continue investing in Australian iron ore and to sustain Pilbara production for decades to come," said Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive Simon Trott.

Earlier this month, Rio Tinto officially opened its newest Pilbara iron-ore mine, Western Range, a $2 billion project developed in partnership with China Baowu Steel, the world's largest steelmaker. In March, the company announced plans to invest $1.8 billion to develop another Pilbara iron-ore project, the Brockman Syncline 1 mine.

Australia's Resources Minister Madeleine King described the Pilbara as "the engine room of the nation's economy."

Rio Tinto is one of the world's largest iron ore producers, alongside Brazil's Vale SA, and earns most of its profit from supplying the steel ingredient to Asia.

Some investors have voiced concerns about the future of Australia's iron-ore industry, as China's steel production plateaus and a major new project, Simandou, is developed in Guinea. Rio Tinto is part of one of the consortia building the Simandou operations.

Still, the company has said it will need to open a new mine in the Pilbara every year through 2030 to ensure it can meet customer demand.

"The Pilbara has been critical to global steel supply for more than 60 years, and we are committed to ensuring it remains so well into the future," Trott said.

Write to David Winning at david.winning@wsj.com and Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com

Copper futures hovered above $4.86 per pound on Tuesday, holding onto gains from the previous session as investor sentiment improved following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran.

The news lifted risk appetite across markets, while concerns eased over a broader geopolitical escalation after Iran’s retaliatory strike on a US base in Qatar caused no casualties and avoided disrupting the vital Strait of Hormuz.

However, copper prices remained capped by growing concerns over a potential destocking cycle in the US. Analysts warned that once the specifics of Trump’s new tariffs on copper imports are finalized, US buyers—many of whom front-loaded purchases earlier this year—may significantly scale back orders, clouding the near-term demand outlook.

Palm oil prices fall in Asian trading, tracking overnight declines in soybean oil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade. However, strong demand from major palm-oil importers may continue to support prices, Abdul Hameed, director of sales at Pakistan-based Manzoor Trading, says. Despite being in peak production season, the palm oil market remains steady, he adds. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for September delivery falls 95 ringgit to 4,031 ringgit a ton. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

Iron ore is lower in early Asian trading. Prices are likely to remain rangebound without a strong trend, Nanhua Futures analysts say in a commentary. The black metal's fundamentals are relatively healthy, with both supply and demand staying robust, the analysts say. Still, high shipment volumes are expected to decline in July and investors will watch changes in hot metal output at that time, Maike Futures analysts say. The most-traded iron-ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange is down 0.2% at CNY704.5/ton. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)