Australian iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group has announced that its iron ore shipments in the third quarter ended March 31 of the financial year 2020-21 fell by 8.8 percent compared to the previous quarter to 42.3 million mt, contributing to a record shipping performance for the first nine months of the financial year. In the first nine months of the current financial year, the company’s iron ore shipments rose by two percent year on year to a record 132.9 million mt. According to Fortescue, during the March quarter it mined 53.6 million mt of iron ore, rising by seven percent from the previous quarter and up by 28 percent from the same period of the previous financial year.
Meanwhile, in the given period, the average iron ore price received increased to US$143 per dry metric ton (dmt) compared to the December quarter price of US$122/dmt, representing a 17.2 percent increase quarter on quarter.
Fortescue has revised its target to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, ten years earlier than the previous target. The company’s iron ore shipment guidance for the financial year 2020-21 is at 178-182 million mt, compared to the previous guidance of 175-180 million mt.