Company flags 16-30 month delay for Oyu Tolgoi production...

• Company flags 16-30 month delay for Oyu Tolgoi production
• Maintains 2019 iron ore shipment forecast

(Adds background, details on Mongolia project)

July 16 (Reuters) - Global miner Rio Tinto (RIO) reported a 3.5% drop in second-quarter iron ore shipments on Tuesday, as disruptions caused by a cyclone in late March squeezed output in the April-June period.

The company shipped 85.4 million tonnes of iron ore, the key ingredient in steelmaking, in the quarter ended June 30, down from 88.5 million tonnes a year earlier. Brokerage UBS had estimated quarterly shipments of 85.2 million tonnes. (http//bit.ly/2LUVXVu)

Tropical cyclone Veronica ravaged the coast of Western Australia earlier this year, damaging several iron ore export hubs and prompting Australia's biggest listed miners to cut their 2019 forecast for iron ore output.

Rio had previously warned that the weather disruption and a fire at a port facility in January would impact its second-quarter performance.

In a separate statement, Rio flagged a delay of 16 months to 30 months for the start of sustainable production at its Oyu Tolgoi underground project in Mongolia, increasing costs by $1.2 billion to $1.9 billion from the $5.3 billion previously disclosed. (http://bit.ly/2xMAcPn)

Meanwhile, Rio Tinto maintained its annual iron ore shipments forecast in the 320 million to 330 million tonnes range.