News: FMG UPDATE 1-Miner Fortescue posts marginal drop in shipments; lowers Iron Bridge estimates

(Updates with details and background)

Jan 25 (Reuters) - Australia's Fortescue (FMG) posted a fall in second quarter iron ore shipments on Thursday, reflecting maintenance at some of its key projects in Western Australia and trimmed full-year shipments target at the flagship Iron Bridge project.

The world's fourth largest iron ore miner shipped 48.7 million tonnes (mt) of the steel-making commodity in the quarter ended Dec. 31. That compares with 49.4 mt shipped a year earlier and a consensus estimate of 48.0 mt.

Pricing for low grade iron ore, which is the bulk of the firm's products, has found support as steel mills focus on conserving margins amid lingering weakness in China's construction sector

The company's trimmed fiscal 2024 shipments forecast at its flagship Iron Bridges project to a range of 2 mt to 4 mt from 5 mt estimated earlier.

The Canning Basin Raw Water Pipeline at the project faced further leaks during the quarter, Fortescue said, impacting flow rate.

The magnetite project in the Pilbara region will allow the company to blend high-grade output with its typically lower grade ore, raising average quality above 60%, making it more competitive when compared to BHP Group (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) .

Fortescue kept its fiscal 2024 total shipments estimates unchanged at 192 mt to 197 mt.