China Vs Iron Ore Magnates - Who Will Win?

Apr 5, 2010

China calls for ore boycott

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<!-- end left side bar --> A Chinese industrial group has urged domestic steel companies to stop buying iron ore from the world's top three miners in protest of an alleged price monopoly, state media said on Monday. -- PHOTO: AP

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BEIJING - A CHINESE industrial group has urged domestic steel companies to stop buying iron ore from the world's top three miners in protest of an alleged price monopoly, state media said on Monday.
The China Iron and Steel Association has asked domestic steel firms and traders not to import iron ore from Australia's Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton and Brazil's Vale for two months, the China Net, a government news website said.
China has 75 million tons of iron ore reserves and production of the resource by Chinese mines was up by 18 per cent year-on-year during the first two months of 2010, the report said.
'At present our steel enterprises have ample supplies of iron ore to ensure normal steel production for two months,' the report quoted association head Shan Shanghua as saying. The association called for the boycott on April 2 as the most effective means to fight the 'monopolistic behaviour' of the three iron ore giants, the report said.
According to press reports, Asian steelmakers like Japan's Nippon Steel and South Korea's Posco have already accepted massive hikes in iron ore prices this year of up to 90 per cent. Agreements by the Asian steelmakers in the iron ore talks have previously served as a benchmark in global negotiations.
For the first time in decades, China's steel industry and the mining companies failed in 2009 to hammer out a deal on prices. -- AFP
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Apr 5, 2010

Japan to aid metal-rich nations

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TOKYO - JAPAN is planning to offer economic aid to countries rich in rare metal resources, with an eye on securing supplies of the materials used in environmentally friendly cars, a report said on Monday.
In the first of such deals, Japan is looking to offer tens of billions of yen in loans as early as May to help build a 100-megawatt geothermal power plant in Bolivia, the business daily Nikkei reported, without citing sources.
Japan will also study potential demand from countries in Africa and Asia for such aid, it said.
About half of the world's lithium deposits are believed to be in Bolivia's Great Lake of Uyuni. Japan's government believes it necessary to offer comprehensive aid packages to win contracts with Bolivia to beat out competition from other countries such as France and Brazil, it said.
Lithium is used in manufacturing lithium-ion batteries used in electric cars. It is also used in pharmaceutical and fine-chemical industries as well as in the manufacturing of alloyed metals.
The planned aid package to Bolivia would also include 440 million yen (S$6.52 million) in grants for installing solar panels in hospitals in the capital La Paz, as well as co-operation in building an alpaca wool textile business and promoting the adoption of terrestrial digital televisions, the report said. Government officials were not immediately available for comment on the report. -- AFP

Idiots - iron ore is a commodity lah. Suspect there is some other reason. After all their petroleum companies have been very active in locking up future supplies and are very active in helping out the 3rd world producer nations.

Chinese are doing what Japan is doing (listed in article below) only that China has a lot more influence then Japan.

makapaaa said:

Apr 5, 2010

Japan to aid metal-rich nations

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TOKYO - JAPAN is planning to offer economic aid to countries rich in rare metal resources, with an eye on securing supplies of the materials used in environmentally friendly cars, a report said on Monday.
In the first of such deals, Japan is looking to offer tens of billions of yen in loans as early as May to help build a 100-megawatt geothermal power plant in Bolivia, the business daily Nikkei reported, without citing sources.
Japan will also study potential demand from countries in Africa and Asia for such aid, it said.
About half of the world's lithium deposits are believed to be in Bolivia's Great Lake of Uyuni. Japan's government believes it necessary to offer comprehensive aid packages to win contracts with Bolivia to beat out competition from other countries such as France and Brazil, it said.
Lithium is used in manufacturing lithium-ion batteries used in electric cars. It is also used in pharmaceutical and fine-chemical industries as well as in the manufacturing of alloyed metals.
The planned aid package to Bolivia would also include 440 million yen (S$6.52 million) in grants for installing solar panels in hospitals in the capital La Paz, as well as co-operation in building an alpaca wool textile business and promoting the adoption of terrestrial digital televisions, the report said. Government officials were not immediately available for comment on the report. -- AFP

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