Australia-based mining company Strike Resources has announced that it has exported its first iron ore from Utah Point in Port Hedland on August 29.
The company has shipped 66,618 mt of iron ore from Paulsens East iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia to a Hong Kong-based customer.
The company has structured its Paulsens mining operations in such a manner that further shipments can be made at relatively short notice. Strike Resources stated that it continues to review market conditions and will make further shipments to Utah Point if iron ore pricing and market conditions meet the company’s internal thresholds.
In early August, the company received approval from the Western Australia Department of Water and Environmental Regulation for the export of up to 1.8 million mt of iron ore annually (10,000 mt per day) from the Port of Ashburton in Onslow, as SteelOrbis previously reported. The Port of Ashburton is a longer-term export solution for Strike given its far closer proximity to the company’s Paulsens East Iron Ore Mine versus Utah Point in Port Hedland, leading to significantly lower trucking costs from mine to port.