ASX 200 mining shares are leading the market lower on Tuesday.
The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) is down 1.6%, making it the worst performer among the 11 market sectors. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is also in the red, down 0.72%.
If you're looking for some investment guidance in the sector, here are three ASX 200 mining shares that have just been re-rated by experts.
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2 ASX 200 mining shares to buy now
Let's start with the buying opportunities.
Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)
Bell Potter has upgraded its rating on Whitehaven shares from a hold to a buy. The broker has also increased its 12-month share price target on the coal miner from $8.90 per share to $9.90 per share.
The Whitehaven share price is $7.67 on Tuesday, up 0.52%.
The broker was pleasantly surprised by Whitehaven's 4Q FY24 update earlier this month.
The miner reported run of mine (ROM) production of 9.7 million tonnes (Mt) for the June quarter. This brought full-year production up to 24.5 Mt, which was 34% higher than FY23.
Bell Potter said:
The company reported Q4 results … outlining higher quarterly production, and higher managed saleable production than Bell Potter was expecting.
1H25 earnings are expected to strengthen at the same time stronger met coal demand is expected to provide additional earnings tailwinds.
Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO)
Dylan Evans from Catapult Wealth reckons Australia's third-biggest ASX 200 mining share (by market cap) is somewhat insulated from current iron ore price volatility for two reasons.
While iron ore still represents the lion's share of Rio's earnings at 70 percent, Evans points out that the rest of the business is mainly in copper and aluminium, which have tailwinds due to decarbonisation.
Secondly, Evans describes Rio Tinto as a "global cost leader" in iron ore production. Keeping costs low is important at a time when the iron ore price is falling.
The iron ore price has fallen from above US$140 per tonne in January to US$106.86 per tonne today.
Plenty of experts also predict further falls in the commodity's value due to weaker demand from China.
Evans told The Bull:
Weakening Chinese demand for iron ore may negatively impact the price, but the outlook for copper and aluminium is brighter.
Both commodities are key materials in the transition to cleaner energy and electric cars.
1 ASX 200 mining share to sell
Peter Day of Sequoia Wealth Management reckons it's time to sell ASX 200 iron ore pure-play Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) shares.
Day notes a significant fall in the Fortescue share price from $29.39 on 2 January to $18.56 today.
Fortescue shares are down 8.6% today and hit a new 52-week low in earlier trading at $18.47 apiece.
Fortescue is currently the worst-performing stock of the ASX 200 on Tuesday.
Day said his company has an underperform rating on Fortescue, explaining on The Bull:
FMG has announced a restructure, with the loss of 700 jobs from its global operations.
FMG says it remains committed to leading the world in green technology, energy and metals.
Investors have been questioning whether the company can meet its goal of producing 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen a year by 2030.
