The metamorphosis of Fortescue Metals Group from high-risk concept stock to cash-generating producer was complete last week as Australia’s self-styled “new force in iron ore” began commercial shipments to China.

The milestone, only three-and-a-half years after FMG began to drill its first discovery hole at the Cloudbreak mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, pushed the group’s shares briefly last Thursday to a peak. The personal fortune of Andrew Forrest, the group’s driving force and, thanks to FMG, Australia’s richest man, rose to A$9.7bn (US$9.3bn).