BC Iron says it is meeting iron ore production targets and forecasts it will ship 2.3 million tonnes by the end of December this year, despite haulage of ore from Nullagine being adversely affected by extreme weather.
Extreme weather across northern Australia this year delayed the building of a 55km private haul road between the mine and Fortescue's Christmas Creek operation, where the ore is loaded on to trains for Port Hedland for export.
If the road is completed as expected in August, it will allow daily haulage rates of more than 10,000 tonnes a day compared to the current rate of about 5,000 tonnes.
So far, 210,000 tonnes have been exported.
"When product is received into the Fortescue mining and transport hub at Christmas Creek, the dispatch of ore through the port and rail system is working very well," the company said.
BC Iron made headlines in February when it made its first shipment of iron ore - about 20,000 tonnes - on a China-bound ship in Port Hedland.
It was the first junior iron ore company to use third-party rail infrastructure in the Pilbara, which BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto had long resisted.
BC Iron uses Fortescue Metals Group Ltd's rail infrastructure.
The miner forecast iron ore shipped out of Nullagine next financial year would be 3.5 to 3.7 million tonnes.
By then, the operation would move to an annual production rate of about five million tonnes, it said.
"Mine gate production for the period has been strong with 330,000 tonnes of DSO (direct ship ore) stockpiled at BC Iron's mine site as at end May, 2011," the company said in a statement on Thursday.
"Mining production is achieving target tonnes and grades."
The company's core asset is Nullagine, a 50/50 joint venture with Fortescue.
BC Iron last month terminated a $345 million takeover offer by Hong Kong-listed Regent Pacific.
The company's shares lifted two cents to $2.83, outperforming the general market, which was down almost two per cent.
