Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO), Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares all underperformed the benchmark index in June.
Over the month just past, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gained 0.5%.
But, after a strong run higher in May, all three of the ASX 200 mining giants lost ground in June.
BHP shares closed on 29 May trading for $62.31. When the closing bell sounded on 30 June, shares were changing hands for $59.40 apiece, down 4.7% over the month.
Fortescue shares fared just a bit better. The Fortescue share price ended May at $22.31 and closed out June at $19.15, putting the ASX 200 miner down 4.2% in June.
And Rio Tinto shares trailed the pack. Shares closed out May at $185.63 and finished June at $172.51 each. This saw the Rio Tinto share price down 7.1% in June.
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Why did BHP shares and the other ASX 200 miners go backwards in June?
First, it's important to note that shares in all three of the big Aussie miners remain well up over the past 12 months.
Despite June's retrace, BHP shares were recently up around 60% over 12 months, while Fortescue shares have gained 19% and Rio Tinto shares have jumped 57%. And none of these figures include the two dividends these companies paid out to eligible stockholders over this time.
As for June's pressure, a lot of that was driven by a retrace in the miners' core revenue earning commodities.
On 29 May, for example, iron ore was trading for US$108 per tonne. By 30 June, the iron ore price had slipped to US$100 per tonne.
Copper prices also slid in June. On 1 June the red metal was fetching US$13,832. By 30 June the copper price had fallen to US$13,375 per tonne, according to data from Bloomberg.
What else happened with the ASX 200 mining giant in June?
There was little fresh news out from the Aussie mining giants in June.
The month did mark Mike Henry's last one as BHP's CEO, with Brandon Craig stepping into the top job on 1 July.
And BHP shares did tumble 5.6% on 19 June after the miner reported on higher-than-expected costs at its Jansen Stage 2 potash project, located in Canada.
Investors were favouring their sell buttons after BHP revealed that its full investment estimate for Stage 2 had increased to US$6.9 billion, up from the prior forecast of US$4.9 billion.
First potash production from Stage 2 was also pushed back two years to FY 2031.
