Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm says the Albanese government’s industrial relations reforms could reignite the workplace tensions of the 1980s as he flagged a further rise in the cost of producing Australian iron ore.

Australian iron ore provided Rio with close to 92 per cent of its $US11.8 billion ($18 billion) underlying earnings over the past year, but the cost of producing each tonne in 2024 will be up to 77 per cent higher than just six years ago.