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Highlights

  • Mineral Resources shares fell 4% to AU$22.77 in early Wednesday trade.

  • Company cut Onslow Iron volume guidance due to lower haulage capacity.

  • Despite short-term downgrade, ramp-up remains on track for FY2026 target.

Shares of Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX:MIN) dropped 4% to AU$22.77 during morning trading on Wednesday, after the company released a production update late Tuesday that revised down its near-term guidance for the Onslow Iron project.

The decline follows an announcement issued ahead of Mineral Resources' investor and analyst tour of Onslow Iron operations, including Ken’s Bore and the Port of Ashburton. In the update, the mining and mining services group revised its iron ore shipment forecast for the project to a range of 7.8 to 8.0 million tonnes (Mt) for the fiscal year. On a 100% basis, this equates to 13.8 to 14.1Mt. The previous guidance was 8.5 to 8.7Mt.

The company attributed the lowered guidance to logistics constraints, specifically citing the limited availability of contractor road trains used for haulage. According to the update, only 65 road trains were available, compared to a targeted 85 to 100. Additionally, below-forecast daily transport cycles — 2.7 achieved versus a target of 4.0 — further affected output.

Despite these issues, management highlighted that other parts of the logistics chain, including performance of jumbo road trains, have met expectations and that haulage volumes continue to ramp steadily.

In the same release, Mineral Resources provided a snapshot of May shipping performance to date. Onslow Iron has shipped 1.7Mt so far this month, with daily volumes averaging 74,000 tonnes over the last seven days. Several days in May surpassed 80,000 tonnes, including a single-day high of 100,000 tonnes. Total shipments for May are expected to reach 1.9Mt, up from 1.3Mt in April. This corresponds to an annualised run rate of 23Mtpa.

The company stated that the increased shipping volumes reflect the accelerating ramp-up of the Onslow Iron project. It reaffirmed that the operation remains on schedule to reach its full nameplate capacity of 35Mtpa in the first quarter of FY2026.

Mineral Resources is one of Australia's key mining and mining services firms, with activities spanning iron ore, lithium, and energy. The Onslow Iron project is a cornerstone of the company’s growth strategy