JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Australian iron-ore junior Atlas Iron has managed to generate A$100-million in net cash from its operations in the 2017 financial year, while reducing its debt by $79-million to A$103-million, MD Cliff Lawrenson reported on Friday.
The company delivered on its 2017 production and cash cost targets, shipping 14.4-million tonnes of ore in the 12 months and reporting C1 cash costs of A$34.8/wmt free-on-board.
In the June quarter, Atlas Iron shipped 3.1-million tonnes of ore, which is a slight decrease from 3.2-million tonnes in the March quarter. C1 cash costs remained unchanged at A$36/wmt.
The company generated A$9-million in cash from its operations in the June quarter, despite the lower headline iron-ore price during the period. The benchmark Platts 62% iron IODEX averaged $63/dmt in the June quarter compared with $86/t in the March quarter. Atlas achieved an average price after hedge impacts of A$56/wmt in the June quarter, excluding value fines and A$55/wmt inclusive of value fines. This compares with A$65/wmt exclusive and A$62/wmt inclusive in the March quarter.
“We are pleased to be able to deliver on our guidance, while reducing debt and building a more flexible production base for the future. We expect to see ongoing volatility in the iron-ore market, hence it is most important that we build a defensive balance sheet, continue to add agility to our delivery model and develop capability beyond our current offering,” commented Lawrenson.
Atlas Iron has maintained its production guidance for 2018 at nine-million to ten-million wet metric tonnes, despite the June decision to defer the Corunna Downs project. The company is expecting higher output from its Mt Webber operation, where a two-million-tonne-a-year expansion has been commissioned.