Fortescue aims for fifth consecutive export record

afr.com:

Fortescue Metals expects to set a fifthconsecutive iron-ore export record in the year ahead, after beating analysts’ estimates and delivering to the top end of its target for the year to June 30.

But the miner signalled inflationary pressures were still evident and unit costs would rise in a year when many analysts believe iron-ore prices will slide on the back of weak Chinese demand.

Fortescue shipped 48.9 million tonnes from Western Australia in the past three months for a total of 192 million tonnes in the year to June.

Fortescue executive chairman Andrew Forrest. The company has delivered strong growth in production in the past five years. Bloomberg

The result was at the top of the company’s target to ship 187 million to 192 million tonnes, and Fortescue vowed to do better in the year ahead, setting a target of 192 million to 197 million tonnes. The new Iron Bridge magnetite project in WA will provide about 7 million tonnes of that and Fortescue said the project would ramp up to full capacity by June 2025.

But Fortescue will also soon be selling African ore; the company said it had mined ore at its Belinga project in Gabon and railed it to port during the past three months. The company expects to export the maiden volumes “by the end of the calendar year”.

Fortescue’s ability to continue growing iron-ore volumes over the past four years has set it apart from its big rivals in the Pilbara, BHP and Rio Tinto.

While BHP’s mines have produced at strong rates recently, the company’s iron-ore sales plateaued between 283 million and 284 million for three consecutive years to the end of June 2022.

BHP’s iron ore sales slumped to 280.7 million over the past year as the company built up unsold stockpiles in China that could be