Fortescue deferred the Kings iron ore project in September 2012 in response to volatile market conditions but with a recent marked improvement in iron ore prices and market outlook, along with a number of measures undertaken by Fortescue including the sale of non core assets, a reduction in operating costs and the restructuring of existing bank facilities, the group has opted now to complete the project in the New Year.
The resumption will enable a smooth transition of the construction workforce to Kings from the nearby Firetail deposit, which is ramping up to a production capacity of 20 million tonne per annum by the end of the March 2013 quarter.
With this decision the 40 million tonne per annum Kings deposit is on track to lift Fortescue’s production capacity to 155 million tonne per annum by the end of calendar 2013.
Mr Nev Power CEO of Fortescue said that the Board carefully considered current market conditions and was confident of moving forward with development.
Mr Power said that “We’ve made outstanding progress with the expansion of our Chichester operations and the development of the low cost Firetail mine. We can now turn our attention to Kings, which will deliver Fortescue an additional 40 million tonne per annum of low cost production by December 2013.”
