Australian iron ore miner Atlas Iron has announced it has shipped a record 1.6 million wet metric tons of iron ore in the quarter ended on September 30, up 16.3 percent compared to the same quarter of 2011.
Accordingly, Atlas has revised its shipping forecast for the whole financial year 2012-13. The miner now expects to ship in the range of 7.2 million mt to 7.7 million mt in the given financial year, following a review of its production plan and other productivity initiatives. The earlier shipment forecasts were between 7 million mt and 7.5 million mt.
The company's managing director Ken Brinsden said, "While iron ore prices have been volatile, Atlas continues to receive strong demand for its standard product from a range of customers both inside and outside China."
Additionally, Atlas also announced that it has secured a funding facility of US$325 million as part of its strategy to grow its North Pilbara iron ore production. The company is targeting exports at a rate of 12 million mt per year by December 2013.