Iron Ore Prices up.... supply at risk...maybe a 2nd shift isn't a bad idea.
The pain isn't over for Australia. Another cyclone, this one called "Vince," is spinning off the coast of Western Australia, home to some of the world's biggest iron ore mines, and could make landfall by the weekend. If it does, the storm will likely disrupt the iron-ore supply chain, especially the ports.
"If the disruption is very severe, there is a chance that iron ore importers would eventually need to source more iron ore from Brazil, India and other exporters," wrote Jeffrey Landsberg, a dry-bulk shipping analyst and founder of the firm Commodore Research.
https://www.thestreet.com/story/10981953/1/aussie-coal-mining-washed-out-by-floods.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN
India's biggest iron ore-producing state said Saturday it has withheld permission from 23 mines to operate because they have not supplied proof of environmental and other clearances.
The mines affected by the move by the Orissa government in eastern India are in Keonjhar district, state mining deputy head Umesh Jena said.
Orissa produces some 75 million tonnes annually of iron ore, the key raw material for steel.
"We have asked operators to supply documents like forest clearances, mining leases and surface rights within a week," Jena told AFP.
"Till then, they can't carry on mining", he said, adding further action would "be initiated" against them if they did not submit the papers.
India is the world's third biggest iron ore supplier with nearly half of its output of over 200 million tonnes exported to China, which has the world's biggest steel industry.
Orissa's move comes as part of a drive to more enforce regulations introduced in 2009 amid charges many mines were functioning without licences.
Orissa has some 600 mines but over 50 percent have been closed for more than a year since the crackdown began.
The government also said earlier this month said it was considering seeking a ban on exports of iron ore to stop illegal mining and boost local supplies.
https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jPwiJsxgP2pqh9mpNYwmkizrt5zw?docId=CNG.67fe77f6859c3fd7c4c553c9966a117a.231
The shortfall of iron ore supplies has prompted a surge in the spot prices of iron ore from India, Brazil and Australia to over $190 per ton. The latest offer price by Vale for 64 percent iron content fines stood at $195 per ton on CFR basis while Rio Tinto's PB fines (grading 61 percent) were being quoted at $191 per ton. The state government of Orissa, India, would join Karnataka state to put a cap on the export of local iron ore resources, along with its intention to increase export duties from 5 to 15 percent to a uniform 20 percent.
Traders' expectations of a near-term rebound in the domestic iron ore market were stronger for fears of raw material scarcity caused by rainstorms in Brazil and floods in Australia in recent days. The prices of iron ore may continue to rise after the Chinese Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival, and perhaps exceed $200 per ton on CFR basis.
https://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Shortfall-Of-Iron-Ore-Supplies-Prompts-Surge-Of-Price/3496127019