Australian iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group (Fortescue) has issued its quarterly operational report for the three months ending on March 31, 2010, stating that its shipments increased 53 percent year on year on the back of rising demand from China.
The third largest Australian iron ore producer shipped 9.4 million mt of iron ore during the quarter in question while it had shipped 6.2 million mt in the corresponding period of 2009.
The company produced 10.39 million mt of iron ore in the first quarter of this year, compared to 9.15 million mt in the previous quarter, increasing its output by 14 percent. The company intends to produce 40 million mt of iron ore in 2010, before increasing the volume to 55 million mt in 2011.
Production costs increased to $29.43 per mt from $27.43 per mt in the previous quarter, the company said. Profit margin improved as well since the average selling prices rose 19 percent compared to a cost increase of seven percent.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, on March 12 the company revealed its aim to expand annual output at the Solomon resource to 60 million mt in the first stage and to 100 million mt in the second stage, costing $US3.24 billion and $US5.7 billion respectively. The project in the iron ore-rich Pilbara region of Western Australia includes the construction of a new railroad and port. The company also reported a major increase in the Solomon resource estimate to 2.7 billion mt from 400 million mt.