Atlas Iron Limited: On Track To Hit 6Mtpa After Loading First Ore On Ship At Utah Port
17.09.2010 | ABN Newswire
14:22 AEST Sept 17, 2010 ABN Newswire (C) 2004-2010 Asia Business News PL. All Rights Reserved.Perth, Australia (ABN Newswire) - Atlas Iron Limited (ASX: AGO) is pleased to report that the first ore from its two North Pilbara iron ore mines, Wodgina and Pardoo, is now being loaded on to the 'Bergen Max' at the new Utah Port.
Atlas has been stockpiling ore at the Utah Point Port Facility for the first vessel, the 'Bergen Max' since early September 2010. The loading of Atlas ore onto the 'Bergen Max' is being completed as part of the Utah Point commissioning process.
The Utah port is at the heart of Atlas' scheduled increase in production to 6Mtpa by Christmas and then to 12Mtpa by 2012.
'This is a momentous day for Atlas, its shareholders, staff and the Pilbara community,' Atlas Managing Director David Flanagan said. 'Utah Point is the first truly multi-user port in the Pilbara where miners other than majors can export their products.
'On behalf of the Atlas team, I would like to thank Andre Bush and his Port Hedland Port Authority team, Pinc, Goodline/ECM joint venture, Ertech and Brierty for their tremendous work in bringing this project to fruition.
Andre's vision for a multi-user port in Port Hedland over four years ago has, after a huge amount of work, been brought to life at Utah Point. It's a great achievement for the PHPA and Western Australia.'
About Atlas Iron Limited:
Atlas Iron Limited (ASX:AGO) is mining and exporting from its 100%-owned Pardoo and Wodgina Iron Ore projects, located 75 kilometres and 110km by road from Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. In the 2009/10 financial year Atlas shipped over 1.2 million tonnes of Pardoo Direct Shipping Ore (DSO). Atlas is expanding its production from its Wodgina and Pardoo DSO mines following the commissioning of the Utah Point port facility and is targeting exports at an annualised rate of 6 million tonnes by the end of 2010. When combined with additional export tonnages from its Abydos & Mt Webber DSO Projects, the Company is targeting exports at an annualised rate of 12 million tonnes during 2012.
Contact:
Atlas Iron Limited
David Flanagan, Managing Director
Ken Brinsden, Chief Operating Officer
Tel: +61-8-9476-7900
http://www.atlasiron.com.au