Iron ore, coking coal prices are soaring

SYDNEY, Aug. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Vice President of Litigation BHP Billiton, Mr Damian Lovellhas today welcomed the introduction of the new ACICA Arbitration Rules designed to speed up the resolution of cross border and international commercial disputes. Mr Lovell, who is responsible for the dispute resolution strategy for the world's largest diversified mining company, said it is standard practice for BHP Billiton to include arbitration clauses in its cross border contracts:

Strike action involving 4000 BHP employees has nothing to do with money, a union boss says. Workers employed at seven BHP mines in Queensland will walk off the job this week after enterprise bargaining negotiations stalled.

Iron ore could soon become a leading economic indicator in emerging markets such as China, since the absence of speculative froth makes the sandy steelmaking raw material a better gauge of demand than industrial metals like copper.

China's 27 largest steel companies saw a 15.7% decrease in the first-half profits from a year earlier for a combined profit of $1.6 billion, according to the Shanghai-based researcher Wind Info, as soaring iron ore costs squeezed margins. The woes of China's steelmakers, which have been switching to cheaper low grade ore to cut costs as prices top $180/tonne, are in stark contrast to profits at miners. Last week results for BHP Billiton showed its iron ore division accounted for the bulk of its record $22 billion in profits. BHP, Vale and Rio Tinto – control nearly 70% of the 1 billion tonne annual iron ore seaborne trade and dominate price talks.

Stakeholders in the mining sector said they are targeting to create about two million direct jobs for Nigerians from the sector. Under the Progressive Miners Empowerment Association (PMEA), the miners said if about N200 billion is injected into the sector, it would be revived.

Reeling under raw material shortages and the extension of a mining ban, the multi-billion dollar Karnataka steel industry is in the doldrums due to continuing uncertainty over iron ore supply to their plants. The jittery industry was not even optimistic over the release of 25 million tonne (MT) of iron ore, lying at various mines in the southern state, as the modalities are yet to be worked out.

Sesa Goa, a Vedanta Group company, has stopped iron ore mining at Chitradurga in Karnataka. The Supreme Court on Friday had banned mining activities at Chitradurga and Tumkur districts. A similar ban on mining is already in force at Bellary in the State.

FT reports iron ore prices hit a three-month high above $180 a tonne on Thursday as supply outages and strong demand from China underpinned the steelmaking commodity. Started in 2008, derivatives trading in iron ore is up fourfold this year after setting a record in July, but he world’s top three miners – BHP Billiton, Vale and Rio Tinto – control nearly 70% of the 1 billion tonne annual seaborne trade and dominate price talks. BHP this week announced record profits on back of earnings from iron ore, its biggest division, which jumped 122% to $13.3 billion and CEO Marius Kloppers said unlike the situation in coal, global iron ore supplies are being 'overestimated'.

Amid pressure from the Greens for the government to make the mining tax even harsher, the Prime Minister today urged Tony Abbott to force the mining industry to share the benefits of the boom. “Is this really a time for anybody to come to this parliament and say the MRRT should be opposed ... in view of the profitability of mines and the pressures we know are on other sections of the economy because of the high Aussie dollar?” she said. “That is a strategy for wrecking.”