_:nbb1ca81b0509494684582ae0ab57f820xb0
<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"UPDATE 2.45pm: Mt Gibson Iron has revealed its hefty cash pile has dwindled from $520 million at the end June last year to $334 million at the end of last month. The miner attributed the $186 million depletion to the falling iron ore price and costs and lost revenue associated with the unexpected seawall collapse that forced the closure of its Koolan Island mine in November last year. Mt Gibson said it sold 1.7 million wet metric tonnes of iron ore in the June quarter for 5.8 million wet metric tonnes for the year, generating full-year sales revenue of $325 million. Chief executive Jim Beyer said the 2015 financial year was clearly a very challenging and difficult one for Mount Gibson. &ldquo;However, the benefits of the decisive and on-going cost reduction and business optimisation initiatives implemented by the company have begun to materialise, as evidenced by an improved operational performance and an increase in our cash reserves in the June quarter,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The response to the changed circumstances has been critical to ensure we maintain our strong financial position and preserve our flexibility to adapt to the difficult conditions. &ldquo;This flexibility is extremely important as we pursue improved returns on all of our financial and operational assets while investigating new resource development opportunities, as well as the proposed Koolan Island logistics base, in volatile market conditions.&rdquo; The company issued full-year 2016 ore sales guidance of 4-4.5 million wet metric tonnes at an average all-in cash cost target of $50-54 per tonne. In February, Mt Gibson posted an $870 million first-half loss, mainly because of the disastrous pitwall collapse at Koolan Island. Mt Gibson noted today that it had received conditional confirmation that its insurance policies would respond to the seawall failure, subject to further review by the company&rsquo;s insurers. The company is still carrying out limited mining on Koolan Island at the Acacia East satellite pit. Mt Gibson said any decision to restart operations in the flooded main pit remained clouded by the technical complexity of the work required and the uncertain outlook for iron ore prices. In May, the company announced it had partnered with Qube Holdings to explore the possibility of establishing a logistics base on the island to service the emerging offshore oil and gas industry. At the company&rsquo;s operating Extension Hill mine in the Mid-West, Mt Gibson said it planned to ramp up production from three million tonnes per annum to between 3.5-4 million tonnes a year. The company&rsquo;s full-year result will be released during the second half of next month. Mt Gibson shares were up two cents, or 10.53 per cent, to 21 cents at the close."
<https://thewest.com.au/business/finance/mt-gibson-endures-tough-year-ng-ya-182198>