PILBARA

90
MINING | Fortescue Metals Group
AUGUST 2014 | Resource Global Network
91
Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:
FMG) is one of Australia’s largest
mining companies, with four
iron ore operations connected by
rail to its own port, Herb Elliott,
near Port Hedland in Western
Australia’s Pilbara region. The
past year was Fortescue’s
biggest yet as it successfully
hit its target 155 million tonnes
per annum (mtpa) run rate
after three years of continuous
expansion.
Completion of T155
Fortescue CEO Nev Power describes financial
year 2014 as being “exceptional” for the
company. “We delivered on our promise in
terms of project execution and ramp-up to
155mtpa and we continued to move down
the global cost curve,” he says.
“In March 2014, we celebrated the official
opening of our 40mtpa Kings Valley project
at the Solomon Hub, marking the completion
of our US$9.2 billion expansion of our Pilbara
operations.”
Called the T155 project after its 155mtpa
ramp-up target, the three-year expansion
required major development of Fortescue’s
port, rail and mining operations within
the Pilbara. Works carried out between
early 2011 and late 2013 included major
extensions to Fortescue’s rail and port
facilities, as well as the expansion of its
Christmas Creek mine, located in the
Chichester Hub, to 50mtpa.
But the largest part of T155 was the
greenfield construction of the Solomon
Hub, located in the Hamersley Ranges of the
Pilbara to the west of the Chichester Hub. The
Solomon Hub comprises the aforementioned
Kings Valley project, as well as the 20mtpa
Firetail Mine opened in May 2013.
Nev says that the low strip ratios of the
Solomon Hub provide a valuable new source
of low-cost production and that they will play
an important role in reducing Fortescue’s
overall operating costs.
“The Firetail and Kings Valley projects
have evolved Fortescue’s product mix,” he
comments. “Channel Iron Deposit (CID) ore
produced from Kings Valley will become a
new standalone product, while ore from
Firetail is blended with Chichester ores to
create the well-received Fortescue Blend.”
A record-breaking FY14
The on-time completion of the T155
expansion project enabled Fortescue to finish
the 2014 financial year on an “outstanding
note,” says Nev, with a record annualised
shipping rate of 160mtpa for the month of
June.
“In the June quarter, we also achieved our
seventh consecutive shipping record of 38.7
million tonnes, taking full year shipments to
124.2 million tonnes,” he adds.
The latter figure is 53% greater than the fullyear
shipments achieved in FY13, and within
2% of the full-year guidance of 127mt.
Map showing New Millennium Iron’s extensive resource
base and project areas, including the Tata Steel Minerals
Canada joint venture’s DSO Project as well as the KéMag
and LabMag deposits that comprise the Taconite Project