Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Iron-ore miner BC Iron has reported record full-year production at its Nullagine joint venture (JV) operation, in Western Australia, during the year ended June.
The miner said on Monday that a 10% increase in ore mined during the three months to June, which reached 1.58-million tonnes, had pushed full-year production to 5.65-million tonnes.
Sales for the full year reached a record 5.8-million tonnes, with BC Iron’s share of the sale being 4.3-million tonnes, or 74% of the JV’s total.
However, shipping during the quarter was down 11% on the previous corresponding quarter, to 1.6-million tonnes, following a delay of the Nullagine JV’s final scheduled shipment.
BC Iron MD Morgan Ball said on Monday that the Nullagine JV finished the financial year strongly to achieve its sales guidance, despite the delay of the last June shipment.
“It was pleasing to continue generating positive operating cash flows against a backdrop of soft iron-ore prices, increasing product discounts and a resilient Australian dollar.”
Ball said that both the Nullagine JV and BC Iron as a whole was able to withstand the cyclical nature of the iron-ore industry, with the company’s balance sheet remaining strong, enhancing the company’s ability to face any further challenges in the coming year.
“We continue to consolidate this position through our ongoing focus on cost control and operational initiatives,” Ball added.
The Nullagine JV, with Fortescue Metals, was currently operating at its nameplate capacity of six-million tonnes a year, and was expected to deliver sales volumes of between 5.8-million tonnes and 6.2-million tonnes in the 2015 financial year.