Australian iron ore miner Atlas Iron has announced it shipped a record 1.86 million wet metric tons of iron ore in the quarter ended on March 31, up 54 percent compared to the same quarter of 2012. Accordingly, Atlas remains on track to achieve the current shipping guidance of 7.4-7.7 million mt for the full financial year.
Iron ore prices were strong over the given period as customers engaged in restocking activities prior to the Chinese New Year and production became tight due to seasonal cyclones in the Pilbara region, Western Australia. Atlas' average sales price for its standard product was US$126/mt CFR in the March quarter, up from US$106/mt CFR in the December quarter.