Fortescue Q2 Iron Ore Exports to China Up 30%

飞雪寒冰

Fortescue Metals Group said it exported 7.98 million tons of iron ore to China in the second quarter, up 29.5 percent from the first quarter.

Australia's third-biggest iron ore miner produced 8.9 million tons of iron ore in the second quarter, up 35.9 percent quarter-on-quarter, it said in a statement on July 13.

It sold the ore to China at spot prices, since long term contract price negotiations for 2009 have yet to conclude, the company said, without providing specific prices.

Fortescue expects to produce 350 million tons of iron ore in 2010, most of it for export to China.

The China Iron & Steel Association said on June 18 that it had held talks on iron ore supply cooperation with Fortescue and Brazilian miner Vale. China wants to develop alternative sources of ore as Rio Tinto and BHP form a joint venture to combine their Western Australia assets, a move Chinese officials have warned could be monopolistic and threatened to fight through antitrust law.

飞雪寒冰

In the first half, China imported 297 million tons of iron ore, up 29.3 percent year-on-year, the General Administration of Customs said on July 10. Imports in June hit 55.3 million tons, up 46 percent year-on-year.

The average first-half import price was US$76.2 per ton, down 44.6 percent year-on-year, according to Customs.

Global miners and the semi-official China Iron & Steel Association are deadlocked over iron ore contract prices for the fiscal year that began in April. China Business News on July 8 reported that Chinese steel mills agreed to a 33-44 percent price cut on iron ore term prices for the six months to October. But a CISA official told Caijing that the talks were continuing and would conclude soon.