Atlas Iron plans to boost output to feed China growth
2012-04-28 14:18:52
Summary：The Perth-based miner today released its quarterly results, which showed that despite a tough quarter, it was on track to ship up to 5.7 million tonnes of iron ore this financial year.
The Perth-based miner today released its quarterly results, which showed that despite a tough quarter, it was on track to ship up to 5.7 million tonnes of iron ore this financial year.
The report comes after the Pilbara miner announced this week that in joint venture with QR National it was studying the development of a new, multi-user railway to transport ore from the central and south east Pilbara to Port Hedland Port.
Atlas managing director Ken Brinsden said despite the deal with QR, the company was still free to talk with other parties about access to existing railway.
"At Atlas we have always taken pride in having options for development in front of us," he said. "Our view hasn't changed over the years and we are taking the same view with respect to rail. We think the QR solution is one of a couple of very good solutions and Atlas is in a unique position, we have options in front of us to deliver infrastructure solutions in a way that the junior and mid-tier iron ore scene has never had in the past."
The company's results, released today, revealed a a 13 per cent quarter-on-quarter fall in shipments for the three months to 1.2 million tonnes. Despite the fall in shipments, Atlas said it still expected operating costs of between $42 and $45 a tonne.
"We shipped 1.2 million tonnes in what I would describe being a tough quarter," Mr Brinsden said.
"We were impacted by a cyclone in January, associated wet weather and we were also impacted by some outages on the Utah Port ship loader. January was pretty ordinary from our point of view ... but importantly in February and March, Atlas hit its straps and was essentially back on target for a 1.5 million tonne per quarter run rate."
Atlas outlined that it planned to invest a further $630 million to develop its mining operations to ramp up its export rate to 12 million tonnes a year by the end of 2013.
Whitehaven Coal also released its quarterly results today, outlining that its sales increased in the January-March quarter despite exceptionally wet weather in the first two months of 2012.
Coal sales rose 6 per cent quarter-on-quarter to 1.42 million tonnes, including 1.06 million tonnes produced at its mines and 357,000 tonnes of purchased coal. Sales for the first nine months of the financial year that ends June 30 were 1 per cent lower at 4.71 million.
The report comes after the Pilbara miner announced this week that in joint venture with QR National it was studying the development of a new, multi-user railway to transport ore from the central and south east Pilbara to Port Hedland Port.
Atlas managing director Ken Brinsden said despite the deal with QR, the company was still free to talk with other parties about access to existing railway.
"At Atlas we have always taken pride in having options for development in front of us," he said. "Our view hasn't changed over the years and we are taking the same view with respect to rail. We think the QR solution is one of a couple of very good solutions and Atlas is in a unique position, we have options in front of us to deliver infrastructure solutions in a way that the junior and mid-tier iron ore scene has never had in the past."
The company's results, released today, revealed a a 13 per cent quarter-on-quarter fall in shipments for the three months to 1.2 million tonnes. Despite the fall in shipments, Atlas said it still expected operating costs of between $42 and $45 a tonne.
"We shipped 1.2 million tonnes in what I would describe being a tough quarter," Mr Brinsden said.
"We were impacted by a cyclone in January, associated wet weather and we were also impacted by some outages on the Utah Port ship loader. January was pretty ordinary from our point of view ... but importantly in February and March, Atlas hit its straps and was essentially back on target for a 1.5 million tonne per quarter run rate."
Atlas outlined that it planned to invest a further $630 million to develop its mining operations to ramp up its export rate to 12 million tonnes a year by the end of 2013.
Whitehaven Coal also released its quarterly results today, outlining that its sales increased in the January-March quarter despite exceptionally wet weather in the first two months of 2012.
Coal sales rose 6 per cent quarter-on-quarter to 1.42 million tonnes, including 1.06 million tonnes produced at its mines and 357,000 tonnes of purchased coal. Sales for the first nine months of the financial year that ends June 30 were 1 per cent lower at 4.71 million.
Key Words：Atlas,Iron,China