BHP posts increase in iron ore output
BHP Billiton has produced a record amount of iron ore in the September quarter in the face of steep price falls.
The company mined 62 million tonnes of the steel making ingredient in the three month period.
It says it is on track to meet its full-year production guidance of 245 million tonnes.
BHP Billiton is the world's third biggest producer of iron ore behind Brazil's Vale and Anglo-Australian company Rio Tinto.
The major Australian producers have recently been accused by many in the market of ramping up production to crowd out smaller miners.
The dramatic rise in iron ore output, combined with a slowdown in China's steel hungry apartment building sector, has resulted in the benchmark iron ore price falling to multi-year lows below $US80 a tonne in recent weeks.
The key Chinese spot price for the commodity was $US81.83 a tonne yesterday, lifting slightly after better-than-expected China gross domestic product (GDP) data.
