London, Feb 16, 2026, 08:25 GMT — Regular session.
- Rio Tinto shares down about 1.5% in early London trade
- Miner suspended work at SimFer site in Guinea after contractor death
- Full-year results due Feb 19, with guidance and project updates in focus
Rio Tinto shares fell on Monday after the miner suspended work at its SimFer mine site at the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea following the death of a contract worker.
The stock was down 1.5% at 7,076 pence at 0802 GMT, versus a previous close of 7,187 pence. (Google)
The halt lands days before Rio’s full-year results, a moment when investors tend to get picky about big projects, timelines and cost control. Simandou has been one of the company’s most closely watched growth bets, and the headlines are the wrong kind. (Riotinto)
Rio said on Sunday an employee of a contracting company died after an incident at the SimFer mine site in Nzérékoré, Guinea on Saturday, and that work and activity at the site had been suspended. Chief Executive Simon Trott said, “Nothing is more important than the safety of everyone who works with us.” (Riotinto)
The company said it would work with authorities, partners and contractors to complete an investigation, and Trott said he would travel to Guinea this week. (Riotinto)
Simandou is split into four blocks. Rio owns a 53% stake in the SimFer consortium, which holds the rights to Blocks 3 and 4, while Chinese state groups own the rest of the consortium, Reuters reported. (Reuters)
Reuters has previously reported fatalities linked to construction around the project, putting safety and oversight at Simandou under sharper scrutiny than a typical mine-site incident. (Reuters)
Commodity markets were thin on Monday with parts of Asia closed for Lunar New Year holidays, and iron ore futures in Singapore were slightly lower. (Reuters)
For Rio investors, Thursday’s results are the next hard checkpoint. The company is due to release its 2025 annual results on Feb. 19, with a presentation and Q&A session later that morning in London time. (Riotinto)
Any comment on Simandou’s schedule and spending will be parsed line by line. So will the tone on safety performance and contractor management, because that’s where these stories tend to spread.
But the immediate market risk is simple: Rio has not said how long work will remain suspended. A longer stoppage — or tighter demands from regulators and partners — could pressure timelines and raise costs at a project investors already treat as complex.
The near-term focus is on what Rio says next on Simandou and the investigation, and then the Feb. 19 results for guidance and any reset of expectations. (Riotinto)
