Australian iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group has stated that it is still committed to green hydrogen projects and that it will accelerate investments in the field of clean energy.
Accordingly, the company plans to increase its capital expenditures on energy projects to $500 million in the fiscal year 2024-25. Moreover, in the near future, it will focus on green hydrogen projects in Australia, the US, Norway and Brazil, followed by additional investments in Morocco, Oman, Egypt and Jordan. In the meantime, Fortescue will keep eyeing opportunities that will become economically viable when electricity prices significantly fall and global green hydrogen demand increases.
Additionally, in the last quarter of the financial year 2023-24, the Australian miner began the commissioning of its North Star solar farm adjacent to its Iron Bridge ore mine south of Port Hedland with an energy capacity of 100 MW, which will eliminate up to 180,000 mt of carbon emissions per year when it is fully operational. Also, the company’s Pecem green hydrogen project in Brazil secured approval from its board of directors to advance to the feasibility stage, while it formed a consortium with global investment company Actis, which received rights to develop and operate a large-scale green hydrogen project in Oman.
Meanwhile, Fortescue has announced its operational results for the fourth quarter and the whole financial year 2023-24 ended June 30.
The company’s iron ore shipments in the given quarter grew by 24.0 percent quarter on quarter and by 10 percent year on year to 53.7 million mt. The increases in shipments reflect the implementation of a recovery plan in response to the ore car derailment in December 2023 and weather disruptions. Moreover, in the same quarter, Fortescue mined 59 million mt of iron ore, rising by 27.0 percent from the third quarter and by 10.0 percent from the same period of the previous financial year.
In the financial year 2023-24, the Australian miner’s iron ore shipments amounted to 191.6 million mt, remaining virtually unchanged from 192 million mt recorded in the previous financial year, while its iron ore production decreased by one percent year on year to 217 million mt.
Fortescue’s iron ore shipment guidance for the financial year 2024-25 stands at 190-200 million mt, including 5-9 million mt from Iron Bridge.
