LONDON: Struggling junior miner Atlas Iron has boosted shipments and trimmed costs in the December quarter, despite falling iron ore prices. The announcement comes just weeks after it agreed to a debt restructuring that will hand its lenders 70 percent of the company’s stock, as it struggles to stay afloat.
Atlas said it shipped 3.6 million tonnes of iron ore during the three months to December, up from 3.3 million in the September quarter. It realised an average sales price of $51 per wet metric tonne (WMT), compared to $61/tonne in the previous quarter.
Its full cash costs fell to $54/tonne from $54 in the previous quarter. The miner had been forced to suspend production at its three mines in April 2015, following a slump in iron ore prices, but resumed operations between May and July. It posted a $1.38 billion loss for 2014/15 after taking impairment charges and writedowns earlier in the year.
In December, the company’s Term Loan B lenders agreed to retire nearly half its $US267 million debt, in exchange for 70 percent of the shares and options on issue.
Atlas on Friday said the deal had support from more than 80 per cent of the Term Loan B lenders by value, but it was still hopeful of a unanimous agreement. The company expects the weaker Australian dollar, lower freight prices and interim cost savings to help it remain competitive during the debt restructure. Atlas shares were trading 0.1 per cent higher at 1.6 cents.
