Fortescue iron ore shipments rise 9% on China demand

According to Mining News Pro - China’s iron ore imports in 2019 stood at their second-highest level ever, ramping up in December, as Beijing’s move to increase stimulus projects and avoid an economic slowdown led to strong demand from the property and infrastructure sector.

Chinese demand for high-quality ore is expected to accelerate in 2020, although prices are expected to stabilise and stay flat across the year.

The world’s fourth largest iron ore producer shipped 46.4 million tonnes (mt) of the commodity during the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with 42.5 mt a year earlier.

The appetite for the commodity remained robust despite prices soaring about 140% during the period amid supply crunches.

The average price Fortescue received for its iron-ore during the quarter rose 58% to $76 per dry metric tonne. The company’s mix of higher grade products allowed it to get 86% of the premium 62% Platts benchmark, against 89% in the previous quarter.

Cash production costs for the quarter came in at $12.54 per wet metric tonnes, below $13.02 in the same period last year.

In a separate release, the miner said it was investing $450 million to provide low-cost power to its mine sites in Pilbara.