Mining giant Rio Tinto exported more cargo[ds_preview]es of iron ore in 2016 as it continued to increase its production capacity.
The Anglo-Australian company reported iron-ore shipments of 327.6 mill. t from its Western Australia mining operations during the year, up 3% on 2015. That was in line with a company projection in October that it would ship between 325 mill. t and 330 mill. t.
The company said it will continue its efforts to maximise efficiency and cash flow in the year ahead. Shipments guidance for 2017 remains unchanged and is expected to be between 330 and 340 mill. t, subject to weather conditions.
Iron ore prices have steadied around 80 $/t, down from a peak around 190 $/t in 2011. About 62% of 2016 sales were made on a cost and freight (CFR) basis, with the remainder sold free on board (FOB), according to the company. Achieved average pricing in 2016 was 49.30 $ per wet metric tonne on an FOB basis (equivalent to 53.60 $ per mt).
Miners including Rio Tinto and Anglo-Australian rival BHP Billiton Ltd. poured billions of dollars into massive expansions of their Australian mining operations over the past decade as China‘s economy grew rapidly. Now, three in every five tons of iron ore traded by sea come from Australia‘s vast Pilbara region. Rio Tinto and BHP are the world‘s No. 2 and No. 3 exporters of iron ore, respectively. Brazil‘s Vale SA is the largest global supplier.
As reported some days ago, Port Hedland in Western Australia, one of the most important indicator for iron ore shipment statistics, saw record volumes at the end of 2016. In December 44.5 mill. tons of cargo were handled at the port.
According to the Pilbara Port Authority this reflected an increase of 17% compared to the previous year. By far the biggest share of the exports were destined for China.
