Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Iron-ore miner Atlas Iron has increased its September quarter shipments by 8% on the previous quarter and lowered its C1 cash costs by 3%, highlighting the company's operational and financial turnaround.
Atlas shipped 4.1-million tonnes of ore during the September quarter at a C1 cash cost of A$34/t.
“These results continue to demonstrate that Atlas is maintaining its tight control on costs while generating strong production volumes. This combination is enabling Atlas to take advantage of solid iron-ore prices, as shown by our margins and our overall free cash flow generation,” MD Daniel Harris said on Wednesday.
Cash on hand increased to A$95-million at the end of September, from A$81-million at the end of June.
Harris said the increased cash flow meant that Atlas would repay A$15-million in debt during October, which would further strengthen the company’s balance sheet. Net debt at the end of September was less than A$90-million.
“We are increasingly confident that Atlas has a bright future marked by strong cash flows and reducing debt levels,” Harris said.