Fortescue shipped 97.1 million tonnes (Mt) of iron ore in the first half of the 2024–25 financial year (FY25), the highest half-year shipments in the company’s history.
The milestone was achieved while managing wet weather impacts in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with operations supported by healthy inventory through the supply chain.
A total of 49.4Mt was shipped during the December 2024 quarter, with 1.5Mt coming from the Iron Bridge operation in WA.
Fortescue’s FY25 shipments guidance, C1 cost and capital expenditure remains unchanged at 190–200Mt, including 5–9Mt for Iron Bridge.
Describing the company’s activities during the December quarter as “an outstanding operating performance”, Fortescue Metals chief executive officer (CEO) Dino Otranto said the record half-year shipments were achieved by the team “maintaining (its) focus on safety, as well as driving costs lower”.
“Our decarbonisation plan is also making progress with a major heavy mobile equipment contract awarded to XCMG during the quarter, which will support the transition of our diesel mining fleet to zero emissions by 2030,” Otranto said.
Fortescue Energy CEO Mark Hutchinson further expanded on the company’s decarbonisation efforts.
“We are continuing to advance and commercialise our portfolio of green technologies which are needed to accelerate the transition to ‘real zero’,” Hutchinson said.
“Our global team is also continuing to progress and refine our green energy projects in a disciplined manner with a focus on completing the feasibility studies for projects in Norway and Brazil.”
Fortescue mined 61.9Mt of ore during the quarter, a 12 per jump from the prior comparable period and an increase in volumes across Iron Bridge and the Hematite operations.
The company processed 51Mt of ore, a five per cent increase from the prior comparable period.
Safety was also a highlight for Fortescue, with its total recordable injury frequency rate sitting at 1.0 as of December 31 2024, a 0.2 per cent decrease from the previous quarter.
The company closed the quarter with a $US3.4 billion ($5.4 billion) cash balance.
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