Fortescue maintained its full-year guidance and product inventories even as ongoing iron ore negotiations in China slowed iron ore sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2027.
The mining giant reported total iron ore shipments of 46.8 million tonnes (Mt) for the first quarter of 2027, including 2.5Mt from its Iron Bridge operation. Iron ore sales of 42.9Mt were below shipments, reflecting impacts from ongoing negotiations with China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG).
Fortescue maintained its full-year guidance of iron ore shipments of 197 to 207 Mt.
The result came alongside a major port maintenance shutdown, which involved replacing critical infrastructure such as the tippler cell in Train Unloader 1.
Product inventory is expected to build by a further 4Mt to 5Mt in October as channels are optimised. The miner cautioned that operations and production schedules could face adjustments if talks are not resolved by calendar year-end.
Fortescue Metals and Operations CEO Dino Otranto said the company’s iron ore shipments are a solid result amid the challenges.
“That’s a solid result, especially with our teams carrying out our biggest-ever shutdown across port operations. We’ve replaced critical infrastructure, including the tippler cell in Train Unloader 1 and major components on our reclaimer and ship loader,” he said.
Mining operations saw 62.7Mt of ore mined and 48.8Mt processed. Production costs rose, with hematite C1 unit costs reaching US$21.98 per wet metric tonne (wmt), up 13 per cent on the previous quarter, driven by inflationary pressures, lower supply chain volumes and higher diesel prices.
Fortescue achieved a realised hematite price of US$79.79 per dry metric tonne (dmt), representing 82 per cent of the average Platts 61 per cent CFR Index. High-grade Iron Bridge Concentrate fetched US$111.09/dmt, or 115 per cent of the index.
On the development front, Fortescue recorded a major milestone at the Blacksmith Project, expanding its mineral resource by 153 per cent to 615Mt and declaring a maiden ore reserve of 196Mt at 58 per cent iron.
Decarbonisation efforts also gathered momentum across the Pilbara. Fortescue produced first hot metal at its Christmas Creek Green Metal Project using an electric smelting process, while wind turbine components arrived for the 133MW Nullagine Wind Project.
The group ended the quarter with US$3.2 billion in cash and net debt of US$2.8 billion following a US$1 billion dividend payment.
