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 2015-16 totaled 42 million mt, decreasing slightly by 0.3 percent from the previous quarter and indicating a rise of 3.96 percent year on year.
According to Fortescue, during the March quarter it mined 43.4 million mt of iron ore, three percent lower than the previous quarter. Total iron ore mined in the March quarter was 22 percent higher than the corresponding period of the previous year.
Fortescue said that mining, processing and shipping were consistent with the previous quarter reflecting the sustainability of productivity and efficiency measures and shipments are currently running ahead of target due to the unseasonal mild weather experienced during the March quarter. Potential upside to the full year guidance remains subject to the impact of weather during the June quarter.
During the March quarter, Fortescue announced the transition to a full owner operator model at its Christmas Creek iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The change will take effect from the completion of the current mining services contract with Australian engineering firm Downer EDI Limited ending on September 30 this year, and will further improve efficiency and reduce costs at the Christmas Creek mining operations.