News: RIO UPDATE 1-Miner Rio Tinto's cuts mined copper forecast, misses estimates for iron ore...

(Adds details on copper forecast, CEO statement, background on coronavirus, iron ore production)

April 17 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO) on Friday cut full-year forecast for copper production due to coronavirus-related disruptions and missed estimates for quarterly iron ore shipments.

The company said it expects a drop in second-half copper output due to coronavirus-related restrictions at its Escondida copper mine in Chile, and ongoing repair work at its Kennecott operations in the United States following damages from an earthquake.

Much like miners around the world, Rio has also been affected by the coronavirus crisis. In late March, it halted operations at its mines in South Africa, and slowed activity at its Canada and Mongolia units following government directives to stem the spread of the virus.

The world's largest miner of iron ore lowered 2020 forecast for mined copper production to 475 kilo tonnes (kt) to 520 kt, from an earlier estimate of between 530 kt and 570 kt, while also cutting refined copper output forecast.

It also lowered its 2020 spending to $5 billion to $6 billion from its earlier guidance of $7 billion, partly due to the COVID-19 crisis and in part due to favourable currency impact from a stronger U.S. dollar, it said.

Rio, however, maintained its estimates for iron ore shipments in fiscal 2020, having already lowered the figure in February after tropical cyclone Damien caused large-scale damages across its entire Pilbara network.

"Demand in China continues to recover. In the rest of the world, the outlook is more uncertain. Commodity supply is being disrupted as COVID-19 restrictions impact supply chains and people movement globally," Chief Executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques said in a statement.

The Anglo-Australian miner shipped 72.9 million tonnes of iron ore during the first quarter ended March 31, missing UBS estimates of 74.4 million tonnes. Shipments rose 5.5% from a year earlier.

Iron ore production for the first quarter stood at 77.8 million tonnes, up 2.4% from the same period last year.