Atlas Iron Ltd (ASX:AGO) says it is on track to meet 2011 goals as it exported 1.42 million tonnes of DSO during the December 2010 quarter. Shipping was only marginally impacted by the closure of Port Hedland port late in the month of December 2010, as a result of the passage of a cyclone, the company said on Thursday.

According to Atlas, it exported 0.31 million tonnes of DSO in the September 2010 quarter, resulting in a total exported of 1.73 million tonnes for the half year ended December 31, 2010.

The company said it remains on target to ship approximately 1.5 million tonnes of DSO for quarter ending 31 March 2011.

Atlas has achieved free on board cash costs of approximately $45/tonne for the December 2010 quarter.

"It is a significant milestone on our way to achieving our target of $40 - $43/tonne from January 2011 onwards," Atlas said.

"Increased exports, reduced costs and strong iron ore pricing have delivered a significant increase in cash reserves to $171 million as at 6th January 2011."

Atlas Iron managing director David Flanagan said, "With production rapidly increasing and operating continuing to fall as targeted, Atlas' two mines are delivering very strong cash flows."

Further details pertaining to operating performance will be provided in the December 2010 quarterly report.

At 1511 AEDT shares in Atlas were up two cents at $2.99.