A view of Fortescue Metals Group’s Herb Elliott Port, showing the port’s second reclaimer with new stockyard area
as it appeared late last year. (Photo courtesy Fortescue Metals Group)
Iron Ore Miners Producing Record Rates at Mid-year
Vale:Vale produced 150.5 million mt of iron ore during the first six months of 2012, down slightly from 151.8 million mt produced during the first six months of 2011; however, during the second-quarter, production totaled 80.5 million mt, setting a new quarterly production record for the company. The overall six-month decline was attributed to adverse weather condi-tions during the first quarter.
Vale’s production of iron ore pellets rose to 26.9 million mt during the first half of 2012 from 25.7 million mt during the first half of 2011. The increase was largely attributed to the ramp up of new pellet production at Vale’s industrial com-plex in Oman.
Vale celebrated its 70 th anniversary on June 1, 2012. Simultaneously, the compa-ny crossed the 5-billion-mt mark for cumu-lative iron ore production since the compa-ny’s incorporation.
“This is a major achievement stemming from a combination of hard work, techno-logical innovation, and a generous endow-ment of natural resources dedicated to supplying the best iron ore in the world to the global steel industry. Metals are the backbone of the modern economy, and Vale as a global mining leader will contin-ue to play an important role in supporting the economic development of nations,” the Vale announcement said.
In late June, Vale obtained the prelimi-nary environmental license for its 90-mil-lion-mt/y S11D iron ore project in the Carajás region of Brazil, where operations are expected to start in the second half of 2016 (See story above).
Rio Tinto:Rio Tinto’s attributable share of iron ore production at its operations dur-ing first six months of 2012 rose to 94.3 million mt, up from 90.7 million mt during the first six months of 2011. During the second quarter, Rio Tinto announced fur-ther investments to advance the expansion of its Pilbara iron ore production to 353 million mt/y by the first half of 2015 and to progress further the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea.
On June 20, 2012, Rio Tinto announced an investment of $2 billion (100% basis $3.5 billion) over the next four years to complete the port and rail ele-ments of the Pilbara expansion project. At the same time, a further $1.7 billion (Rio Tinto share 100%) of largely sustaining capital expenditure was announced to extend the life of the Yandicoogina mine to 2021 and expand its nameplate capacity from 52 million mt/y to 56 million mt/y.
Rio Tinto Chief Executive Tom Albanese said, “Global economic conditions and sentiment dropped markedly in the second quarter of 2012. We are keeping a close eye on the pace of the U.S. recovery, the continuing Eurozone crisis, and the impact of efforts to stimulate the Chinese econo-my on the markets that we serve.
Our investment program remains resilient to this market volatility, as our tier-one projects are robust under any probable macroeconomic scenario.”
BHP Billiton:BHP Billiton delivered its 12th consecutive annual iron ore produc-tion record during its fiscal year ended June 30, 2012. Production attributable to the company at its Pilbara operations in Western Australia totaled 148.1 million mt, up from 122.7 million mt during the previous fiscal year. On a 100% basis, pro-duction at these operations rose to 174.2 million mt from 144.3 million mt during the previous fiscal year.
Consistently strong operating perform-ance, the ramp-up of Ore Handling Plant 3 at its Yandi mine, dual tracking of the com-pany’s rail infrastructure, and additional ship-loading capacity at Port Hedland con-tributed to the record result, BHP Billiton said. Production at the company’s Pilbara operations is forecast in increase by about 5% during the coming fiscal year.
Fortescue Metals: Fortescue Metals continued its rapid rate of growth during its fiscal fourth quarter, ending June 30, with production of 19.1 million mt of “iron ore, up from 12.3 million mt during the year earlier period. Current scheduling calls for production of 38 million mt during Fortescue’s current fiscal first half to the end of December 2012 and 89 mil-lion mt for its fiscal full year ending June 30, 2013.
With major new production coming online during its fiscal second half to June 30, 2013, Fortescue is targeting a run rate of 155 million mt/y by that date. The com-pany expects to consolidate its production rate at 155 million mt/y before proceeding with new expansion plans but is continuing to develop expansion options based on its expanding Pilbara resource base.