RIO Rio Tinto Plc

   By Biman Mukherji 
 

HONG KONG--Fortescue Metals Group (FMG.AU), one of the world's largest iron-ore exporters, said it is seeing strong shipments of the steel-making material his year, particularly as there have been very few weather disruptions.

Nev Power, chief executive of Fortescue, said the company's shipments for the first half of this year are estimated at 84 million tons, against a target of 165 million tons for the year.

He said normally iron-ore shipments are hit by four to seven cyclones by this time of the year.

Mr. Power also said he was optimistic about long-term demand from China, though iron ore prices have pulled back after hitting a year's high of around $63 per ton in early March, to slightly above $50 per ton.

Separately, he said Fortescue and Brazil's Vale are likely to offer a blend of iron ore that they each produce to sell to customers in China by the second half of this year.

Last month, the two companies said they had signed a pact that will open the door to Vale buying a minority stake of up to 15% in Fortescue on the market. They said they will include negotiations on new joint mining projects or investments by Vale in Fortescue's existing pits in remote northwest Australia.

Vale and Fortescue are two of the world's largest iron-ore exporters, along with Anglo-Australian miners BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU) and Rio Tinto PLC (RIO.AU).

Write to Biman Mukherji at biman.mukherji@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 06, 2016 01:57 ET (05:57 GMT)

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