Australian mining company Fortescue Metals Group (Fortescue) has announced the loading of the first third party shipment of iron ore at its Herb Elliott Port in Port Hedland, Australia.
Under the terms of the third party port access agreement, signed between Australian miners Atlas Iron and Fortescue in August this year, Atlas Iron yesterday commenced loading of iron ore to Panamax-sized "Great Wisdom", which is scheduled to sail today to China.
The first shipment amounts to 65,000 mt of iron ore from Atlas Iron's Pardoo Project in the Pilbara region, Western Australia.
"The third party access loading of the Atlas shipment marks an historic day, not just for Fortescue and Atlas, but for the Western Australian iron ore industry. This shipment proves third party access can work. Atlas has been able to access infrastructure on commercial terms rather than duplicating expensive shiploading systems or relying on government built infrastructure. The regional, state and national economies will benefit from the extra export revenue that has been generated and, of course, Fortescue has generated additional income from the company's infrastructure investment," Fortescue's executive director of operations Graeme Rowley said.