Fortescue backed by iron ore in record quarter
Fortescue (ASX: FMG) shipped 49.7mt of iron ore in Q1 FY26, a record amount for the company, up 4% on the prior year.
Guidance for FY26 shipments, C1 unit cost and capital expenditure remains unchanged.
Total ore mined was 60.1mt and total ore processed of 50.8mt, 5% and 6% higher than Q1 FY25, respectively.
While performance was strong, Iron Bridge is still lagging. The operation contributed 2.1mt of iron ore in Q1, well below its nameplate capacity of 22mtpa. Fortescue expects the operation to reach nameplate capacity by FY28.
Fortescue metals and operations chief executive Dino Otranto comments on the company’s Q1 progress.
“We reached important milestones this quarter, including the successful syndication of a Renminbi-denominated term loan and the establishment of new global partnerships that will help drive our profitable decarbonisation,” he said.
“We’re continuing to see delivery of this on the ground, with 10 electric excavators in operation and construction of our 190MW solar farm at Cloudbreak now more than one third complete.”
Fortescue has also begun implementing its revised hematite life of mine plan, which incorporates the Blacksmith project attained with the Red Hawk Mining acquisition in Q3 FY25.
“The plan optimises material movement and orebody use, ensuring Fortescue remains positioned as a low-cost, capital-efficient operator, maximising value across our operations,” Mr Otranto said.
While iron ore has been a strong performer, the miner’s green technology division hasn’t seen the same success.
Earlier this month, Fortescue dropped plans to manufacture electric motors in-house, moving work offshore to China in a shift that will cost hundreds of workers in the UK and WA their jobs.
The UK-based Fortescue Zero division was set to manufacture powertrains for about 400 electric mining trucks for the company’s extensive iron ore operations in the Pilbara region of WA. The company will instead be making the majority of components for the vehicles offshore in China where costs are lower and turnover times are faster.
Fortescue also cancelled its plans to progress its Arizona hydrogen project in the US and PEM50 project in Gladstone, Queensland, with the company then shifting focus to its green metal project in the Pilbara.
Fortescue growth and energy chief executive Gus Pichot says the company is continuing to evolve its growth opportunities across metals, critical minerals, energy and technology in a disciplined and commercially focused way.
“Fortescue now has a global alliance of green energy and technology partners to work alongside to accelerate the delivery, scale and economics of decarbonisation, including BYD, LONGi, XCMG, Envision Energy and Liebherr, together with our newly consolidated renewable technology company Nabrawind,” he said.
“These collaborations allow Fortescue Zero to focus on its strengths in research and development, keeping Fortescue at the forefront of breakthrough innovations.”
Fortescue says it is maintaining a pipeline of green energy projects and continues to assess project viability and timing in line with evolving customer demand, regulatory settings and its disciplined capital allocation framework.