Mt Gibson up on record ore sales
UPDATE 2.35pm: Shares in Mt Gibson Iron were firmer after the miner announced record full-year ore sales of 9.7 million wet metric tonnes delivering revenue of $890 million.
The Chinese-controlled iron ore miner said the record followed a strong June quarter with sales of 2.6 million wet metric tonnes for revenue of $194 million.
Chief executive Jim Beyer said the company had achieved record ore sales and revenue, and built cash reserves to a record year-end total of $520 million, with negligible debt.
"Our focus on continuous improvement has ensured an outstanding operational performance for the financial year in the face of challenging market conditions over the last six months," he said.
Mr Beyer said the company was set to increase its ore quality to + 61 per cent iron in the year ahead, enabling it to better optimise cashflow margins and performance.
"We also safely concluded operations at Tallering Peak after ten years of production, and with low grade sales now concluded, we head into the new financial year well positioned to navigate volatile conditions with a robust balance sheet and a superior and improving product quality profile," he said.
Mt Gibson owns the Extension Hill mine in the State's Mid-West and the Koolan Island mine off the Kimberley coast.
Shares in Mt Gibson were up three cents, or 4.38 per cent, to 71.5 cents at the close.
