According to the activity report published by the Australian mining company Mineral Resources Limited (MinRes), the total volume of iron ore production by the company at the Onslow Iron and Pilbara Hub enterprises amounted to 10.3 million weight tons (wet metric tons) in the third quarter of the 2025-26 fiscal year ended March 31, and the volume of shipments was fixed at 9.3 million weight tons.
In this quarter, production at the Onslow Iron project increased year-on-year from 3.43 million tons to 7.84 million tons. However, in quarterly terms, production decreased by 11%, and shipments decreased by 17% to 7.23 million tons. The Ministry of Energy said that supplies were negatively impacted by tropical cyclones Mitchell and Narel, while the private transportation road and other key infrastructure were not affected, and operations returned to rated capacity shortly thereafter.
The company raised its forecast for Onslow Iron shipments for the 2025-26 fiscal year from the previous range of 17.1-18.8 million tons by weight to 17.7-19.4 million tons by weight. It was stated that the FOB cost of the project is near the lower limit of the estimated range of USD 54-59 per ton. In the third quarter, the average price of iron ore at Onslow Iron was US$ 95/dmt (dry metric ton).
On the Pilbara Hub side, production in the third quarter decreased by 10% quarter-on-quarter to 2.42 million weight tons, while shipments fell by 13% to 2.07 million weight tons. The Ministry of Energy reported that the first ore was delivered to the Lamb Creek project in March. The company said the production exceeding the shipment volume was due to a strategic inventory build-up to move to Lamb Creek.
In the Pilbara Hub, the average price of iron ore was $89 per dmt. The company said prices were supported by a 42% increase in lump ore weight, and that this figure is expected to remain in place in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year when Lamb Creek is commissioned. Although the forecast for Pilbara Hub shipments for the 2025-26 fiscal year has been maintained at 9.0-10.0 million tons, the FOB value is expected to be fixed at 75-80 USD per ton.
