The Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price is having a tough start to the week.
In afternoon trade, the mining giant's shares are down 3% to $93.57.
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Why is the Rio Tinto share price dropping?
Investors have been selling down the company's shares today in response to a very poor night of trade for its US listed shares on Friday.
The NYSE-listed Rio Tinto share price dropped almost 5% on Friday night after commodity prices pulled back amid concerns over a looming global recession.
In addition, it appears as though some investors may be nervous ahead of the release of the company's third quarter update on Tuesday.
Ahead of the release, let's take a look to see what is expected from the mining giant.
What is expected from Rio Tinto's Q3 update?
According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts are expecting a strong quarter from Rio Tinto, with solid production growth across most commodities.
It expects the following:
- Iron ore shipments up 4% quarter on quarter (QoQ) to 83.4Mt
- Alumina production up 4% QoQ to 1,937kt
- Aluminium production up 4% QoQ to 762kt
- Bauxite production down 2% QoQ to 13.8Mt
- Mined copper up 11% to 140kt
- Titanium dioxide slag up 7% to 209kt
The market is even more positive on Rio Tinto's quarterly performance for a number of commodities.
For example, consensus estimates are for iron ore shipments of 84.5Mt, alumina production of 1,982kt, aluminium production of 776kt, and bauxite production of 14.1Mt.
Outside this, the market will no doubt be keen to hear how inflation is impacting the company's margins in FY 2022.
Should you invest?
Goldman continues to see a lot of value in the Rio Tinto share price at the current level.
It currently has a buy rating and $113.00 price target on its shares. This implies potential upside of almost 21% for investors over the next 12 months.
