Australian iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group has announced that its iron ore shipments in the first quarter ended September 30 of the financial year 2019-20 totaled 42.2 million mt, falling by nine percent compared to the previous quarter, reflecting seasonal maintenance activity, while increasing by five percent from the same period of the previous financial year. The demand for Fortescue’s products in the quarter remained strong with Chinese steel mills focussed on raw material costs in response to current steel margins.
According to Fortescue, during the September quarter it mined 50.6 million mt of iron ore, down 12 percent from the previous quarter and three percent year on year.
The company expects its iron ore shipments in the financial year 2019-20 to be around 170-175 million mt, while it expects its capital expenditure to reach $2.4 billion in the same period.