Australian iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group has announced that its iron ore shipments in the third quarter ending March 31 of the financial year 2013-14 totaled 31.5 million mt, increasing by 56 percent and indicating a rise of 13 percent over the previous quarter. Fortescue has said that it achieved record shipments for the given quarter, lifting financial year-to-date shipments to 85.4 million mt, a 53 percent increase over the corresponding period of the previous year.
According to Fortescue, during the March quarter it mined 29.6 million mt of iron ore, eight percent lower than the previous quarter, largely due to the impact of seasonal wet weather on production and a focus on working capital management. Total iron ore mined in the given quarter was 17 percent higher than the corresponding period of the previous year. Fortescue drew down on iron ore stocks in the March quarter and will continue reductions in the June quarter as well.
Fortescue said that the completion of the Kings Valley project during the March quarter lifted Fortescue's production capacity to 155 million mt per year. The introduction of Kings Valley ore increased Fortescue's total output from its processing facilities to a record 31.2 million mt in the given quarter, 58 percent higher year on year.
Fortescue plans to ship 41.6 million mt in the June quarter to achieve 127 million mt of iron ore shipments in the financial year 2013-14.