Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto has said first-half net profit dropped by 82% after being hit by lower demand from China.
Net profit, external sank to $806m (£517m) for the first six months of the year from $4.4bn a year earlier.
Like its competitors, Rio is trying to cut costs to counter falling ore prices.
Chief executive Sam Walsh called the result "robust" and said the cuts led to $641m of savings.
The savings target will be expanded to $1bn a year, he said.
Much of Rio's business is in iron ore for steel making. One benchmark grade of iron ore, which is currently changing hands for $56 a tonne, has ranged in price from $65 in June to a decade-low of $44 in July.
The company's underlying earnings for iron ore fell 55% to $2.1bn from $4.7bn a year ago. Copper earnings sank 40%, while aluminium soared 113% to $793m.
"Domestic consumption of steel in China is maturing, but taking into account rising exports of steel as well as steel-containing goods, we continue to project long term growth in Chinese crude steel production," the company said.
- Published12 February 2015
