Australia's third-biggest iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (Fortescue) has announced its operating results for the first quarter of 2013.
Fortescue said in its statement that its total iron ore shipments during the March quarter increased by 60 percent year on year to 20.2 million mt. In the given quarter, Fortescue's total processed iron ore volume increased to 19.8 million mt, up by 69 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
According to Fortescue's statement, production costs for the quarter decreased to $43.61/mt from $50.48/mt in the previous quarter.
Fortescue stated that the commissioning of the ore processing facility at Solomon's Firetail mine has commenced. The Firetail production facility is expected to quickly ramp up to 20 million mt per year during May, increasing Fortescue's production capacity to 115 million mt per year. While commissioning of the ore processing facility at Firetail is slightly later than expected, Fortescue has maintained its production and shipping guidance between 82 and 84 million wet mt for the financial year 2012-2013.