BHP's iron ore production misses estimates on hit from maintenance works

(Reuters) -BHP Group's first-quarter iron ore output came in a little lower than estimates on Tuesday, as planned maintenance, including rebuilding of a piece of equipment at Port Hedland, weighed on production at its Western Australian operations. The world's largest listed miner said iron ore production from its Western Australia mine operations on a 100% basis was 70.2 million metric tonnes (Mt) in the three months ended September 30, compared with a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 71.55 Mt. BHP had recorded iron ore output from its Western Australian operations of 71.6 Mt a year earlier. Sales from the operations were broadly in line with the prior year, with BHP reporting a 5% sales rise of higher-value lump. The major rebuild of Car Dumper 3 at Port Hedland, which reduced volumes by 4.3 million tonnes on a 100% basis, was completed about 8% ahead of schedule, BHP said. Car Dumper 3 is a massive machine that unloads iron ore from trains for export and has been rebuilt to extend its life, boost reliability, and keep operations running smoothly after years of heavy use. BHP kept its fiscal 2026 output forecast for Western Australia iron ore unchanged at between 284 Mt and 296 Mt. The group's total copper production for the quarter gained 4% to 493.6 kilo tons and the company kept its 2026 output estimates unchanged. BHP added that both stages of Canada's Jansen potash project were making solid progress, with Stage 1 being 73% complete and on track to start production in 2027. The Stage 2 has reached 13% completion. (Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee and Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

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