Aussie dollar climbing… is the iron ore trade back on?
Simandou, one of the world’s most significant iron ore developments, is set to challenge the Pilbara’s dominance soon.
The environmental regulator in Brazil’s northern Amapa state (Imap) has fined Anglo American (LON: AAL) with a $10 million (20m Brazilian reais) fine over last week’s accident that left three people dead and another three missing at the company’s port terminal in the area.
According to OGlobo (in Portuguese), Imap imposed the penalty because of the “environmental alterations” caused by the pier collapse.
The incident forced Anglo to halt shipments from the Amapa iron ore operation, where it produced 6.1 million tonnes of iron ore last year, since early Friday.
Last week the miner said an “abnormally large wave of water rushing down the river” had contributed to the landslide, adding in a statement on Monday that it was still investigating the exact causes of the accident.
Paulo Castellari, president of Anglo American’s Brazilian iron-ore operations, earlier this week said production at the Amapa system will “obviously” be affected by the calamity, adding the exact cause of it remains unknown.
The London-based miner has struggled to increase its presence in Brazil’s iron ore industry and finally agreed to sell its 70% stake in the mine three months ago to Zamin Ferrous.
The company acquired control of Amapa from Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista’s MMX in 2008, as part of the $5.5 billion Minas Rio purchase. But Amapa was deemed non-core and put on the block last year.
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