According to NABTrade, the S&P/ASX 300 Metals & Mining Index (ASX: XMM) completed Thursday's session with its biggest, single-day gain in five weeks.
Australian miners were benefitting as commodity prices rebounded. NABTrade reported that "Chinese iron ore and steel futures rose on Wednesday after falling for two consecutive days, as concerns stoked by the COVID-19 outbreak eased."
As such, it was a day well in the green for the sector.
Gains for the ASX 200 mining sector
The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price finished the day up by a substantial 4.37%. It regained some of the ground lost after the company last week reported its quarterly update for the three months to 31 March 2022.
In the update, BHP said its iron ore production was down 10% quarter on quarter. The company also reduced its FY22 production guidance for both nickel and copper.
The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price also soared higher on Thursday, up by 8.11%. This came after Fortescue reported its quarterly update for the three months to 31 March 2022.
Fortescue said that the amount of ore shipped was 46.5mt, which was a 10% increase compared to the third quarter of FY21. The miner said it achieved record shipments for the nine months to 31 March 2022 of 139.5mt.
Its average revenue was US$100 per dry metric tonne (dmt), representing revenue realisation of 70% of the Platts CFR Index for the quarter. This was a slight increase from 68% in the second quarter of FY22.
However, Fortescue did increase the capital estimate for the project to US$3.6 billion – US$3.8 billion, up from the previous guidance of between US$3.3 billion and US$3.5 billion.
The Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price also climbed yesterday, up by 3.52%.
The big three iron ore miners weren't the only ones that saw gains on Thursday.
Following the release of a quarterly report, the Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) share price gained almost 12%. The company generated $343 million of sales revenue and $186.9 million of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).
Sandfire said it's delivering growth in high-margin production. The ASX 200 miner also advised that production guidance was strengthened, though operating cost guidance also increased.
Other mining gains
Some other notable gains on the ASX 200 also came from mining shares on Thursday:
The OZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: OZL) share price leapt 6.92%.
The Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price climbed 6.9%.
The Iluka Resources Ltd (ASX: ILU) share price gained 6.15%.
Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC) shares jumped 6.06%.
Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) shares gained 4.79%.
The New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC) share price increased by 4.55%.
Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) shares climbed 3.96%.
What's next?
ASX shares look set to end the week with another positive day on Friday after a stellar session on Wall Street overnight. Over in the US, the Dow rose 1.85% and the S&P 500 jumped 2.5%. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq leapt by just over 3%.
So, whilst it's shaping up to be a good day for investors, ASX 200 mining shares could be forced to take a back seat to the tech sector on Friday.
