Fortescue chair urges China to end iron-ore buying strategy
Fortescue's executive chairman Andrew Forrest said China’s state-backed iron buyer should stop using tactics aimed at negotiating lower prices for the key steel ingredient.
Speaking Wednesday on Bloomberg Television from the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan, the miner’s billionaire founder said China Mineral Resources Group Co was trying to “create a cartel” and cautioned it shouldn’t “poke a bear,” referring to Australia’s economy.
CMRG has disrupted the global iron ore market by acting on behalf of steel mills to negotiate prices with the world’s top miners, including Fortescue and larger Australian peers Rio Tinto Group and BHP Group. Its negotiations with BHP, in particular, have soured, leading to a ban on some iron ore products from the group.
“I’d say to the CMRG, step away from that gun fight, it isn’t one worth having,” Forrest said. “Forming a cartel to force down the iron ore price will impact an economy completely. When you threaten someone who has nothing to lose, you can get any kind of response, and all I’m saying is the iron ore price is critical to Australia’s economy.”
Forrest said Beijing should instead focus on working with miners to buy more equipment from China and secure finance from mainland banks, an effort underscored earlier in the week by Fortescue’s chief executive officer at another major Chinese policy forum.
“Go for the big dividends, which is getting the renminbi accepted as a global currency, getting trade, and getting demand for your huge manufacturing and industrial base,” Forrest said.
Fortescue has already secured a $14.2-billion yuan ($2-billion) loan from major Chinese lenders, and ordered a fleet of electric machinery from China to deploy across its mines. The company shipped over 100-million tons of iron-ore, mainly to China, in its first half that ended in December.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
For over 15 years, Lilak Aluminium, a trusted leader in architectural extrusion supply, has delivered excellence to businesses like yours.
VISIT SHOWROOM
ISO-certified Condra manufactures overhead cranes, portal cranes, cantilever cranes and crane components: hoists, drives, end-carriages, brakes and...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
