Fortescue Pilbara hematite operations: an iron ore operation in Australia

Fortescue Pilbara hematite operations is an integrated mine and processing complex producing iron ore in Pilbara region, Western Australia (mines, heavy-haul rail and Herb Elliott Port), Australia, operated by Fortescue. The sources report 192.3 thousand tonnes, converted from million wet metric tonnes (M wmt): ore shipped for FY2026 (Jul 2025 to Jun 2026); the basis is 100% of the operation, as reported by the operator. Measured as usable ore, whole-operation output for FY2026 (Jul 2025 to Jun 2026) is 192,300,000 tonnes: about 7.4% of world iron ore output in 2025 and about 20% of Australia's; it is one of 21 operations on this site whose output can be stated in usable ore.

Who owns and operates it?

Owners of Fortescue Pilbara hematite operations
Owner	Interest	As of
Fortescue (operator) The quarterly report prints volumes on a 100% basis and a Fortescue-share shipments total of 198.5 Mt for FY2026 against 201.3 Mt in total; it prints no ownership percentage for the hematite operations.	—	30 June 2026

Interests are as stated in the sources below on the date shown. Ownership changes with deals, so a stake may have changed since the date shown.

How much does it produce?

Reported output of Fortescue Pilbara hematite operations
Period	Output	Basis	Where in the source
FY2026 (Jul 2025 to Jun 2026)	192.3 thousand tonnes, converted from million wet metric tonnes (M wmt): ore shipped Ore mined 213.0 M wmt and ore processed 192.2 M wmt are printed in the same table. The Marketing table splits total shipments of 201.3 M wmt by product, including Iron Bridge Concentrate at 9.0 M wmt.	100% of the operation, as reported by the operator	PDF p.3 (Page 3 of 6), 'Hematite Operations (M wmt)' table, row 'Ore shipped', FY26 column · Fortescue Ltd
FY2025 (Jul 2024 to Jun 2025)	191.3 thousand tonnes, converted from million wet metric tonnes (M wmt): ore shipped	100% of the operation, as reported by the operator	PDF p.3 (Page 3 of 6), same row, FY25 column · Fortescue Ltd

Between FY2025 (Jul 2024 to Jun 2025) and FY2026 (Jul 2025 to Jun 2026) the reported figure rose by 0.5%, in the same unit and on the same basis.

How the usable-ore figure is worked out. Fortescue prints 192.3 million wet metric tonnes of hematite ore shipped in FY2026 on a 100% basis. The report prints no saleable production line, so shipments are used; hematite ore processed is 192.2 million wet tonnes. World mine production of usable ore in 2025 was 2,600,000,000 tonnes (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026); Australia produced 980,000,000 tonnes.

The period (FY2026 (Jul 2025 to Jun 2026)) is not the calendar year of the USGS totals (2025), so the shares are approximate.

Status: operating, as of 30 June 2026.

Fortescue does not print figures by mine or hub in the quarterly report, so the hematite operations are listed as one entry. Its FY2025 annual report names a Chichester Hub (Cloudbreak and Christmas Creek) and a Western Hub (Solomon and Eliwana), without FY2026 production by hub.
Total FY2026 shipments of 201.3 million wet tonnes are 192.3 million hematite plus 9.0 million Iron Bridge concentrate; Iron Bridge is listed separately so that it is not counted twice. Fortescue's financial year ends on 30 June.

How does it compare?

Other iron ore operations on this site: Hamersley mines (Rio Tinto Pilbara), Hope Downs (Rio Tinto and Hancock Prospecting), Robe River - Robe Valley, Robe River - West Angelas, Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC), Simandou Blocks 3 and 4 (SimFer), Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO), Iron Bridge (magnetite), Onslow Iron, Serra Sul (S11D), Carajas, Serra Norte, Carajas, Itabira complex. In Australia: Hamersley mines (Rio Tinto Pilbara), Hope Downs (Rio Tinto and Hancock Prospecting), Robe River - Robe Valley, Robe River - West Angelas, Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO), Iron Bridge (magnetite), Onslow Iron. See where iron ore comes from for the country totals, the country page for Australia, and Fortescue for its other operations here.

Sources

Fortescue Ltd: June 2026 Quarterly Production Report (quarterly production report (ASX announcement, 31 July 2026), Q4 FY2026 and FY2026 (Jul 2025 to Jun 2026)). Opened 4 November 2026; used: PDF pp.1-4 (Pages 1 to 4 of 6).
U.S. Geological Survey: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Iron Ore (government statistical summary, 2025 (world and country mine production of usable ore)). Opened 3 November 2026; used: world and country mine production table, usable ore.

Method and limits

Reported, not estimated. Output is the figure the operator or owner published, in the unit it used. This site does not estimate output where none is published.
Shares. A share divides output in usable ore by the USGS world or country total for 2025. Where the operator's year is a fiscal year or the unit is a concentrate or a carbonate equivalent, the share is approximate or not given.
What is compared. Operators print tonnes of ore: saleable production for most, run-of-mine and pelletizing feed for Vale, and shipments for Fortescue and Onslow Iron, mostly as wet tonnes. The figure is compared with the USGS usable-ore total, which does not state a moisture basis, so the share is indicative.
Whole operation or owner's share. The basis column says which. A joint venture's output is never counted twice.
Partial list. Only operations with a published figure are listed, so the rank is among those on this site, not among every iron ore mine. Shares of a country's output mix periods and bases, so treat them as indicative.
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