Australian iron ore miner Atlas Iron has announced that the annual production rate at its Mt Webber mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia will increase from seven million mt to nine million mt with the incremental production being processed at the company’s recommissioned Mt Dove site.
Atlas Iron’s managing director Cliff Lawrenson stated that the recommissioning of the Mt Dove plant and the expansion of Mt Webber’s production will enable the company to achieve operating cost benefits and production benefits.
Meanwhile, Atlas Iron has deferred the development of its Corunna Downs iron ore project located 40 km from the company’s Mt Webber project, due to prevailing market conditions and also approval processes taking longer than expected. The deferral will allow the company to further de-risk the Corunna Downs project in anticipation of improved market conditions. Atlas Iron stated that the upgrade of its Mt Webber mine is a low-cost option that retains productive capacity without major capital expenditure. However, Mr. Lawrenson stated that Corunna Downs remains an important project for the company to sustain its production base and they will proceed with its development when market conditions improve.
With mining at the company’s Abydos mine scheduled to end in October this year and the additional production at Mt Webber set to ramp up by August, Atlas’ production guidance for the 2017-18 financial year stands at 9-10 million mt.