Chinese going too far, says Palmer

Mining magnate Clive Palmer has accused the Chinese owners of the struggling $6 billion Sino Iron magnetite project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region of occupying port facilities and trying to run the port “like they were in China”, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Palmer’s private company Mineralogy owns the right to operate the nearby Cape Preston port but said on Sunday that Chinese owner Citic Pacific was attempting to stymie competitors from accessing the infrastructure.

“We own the port but at the moment they’re occupying it,” Palmer said.

“They want a situation where they control it and decide who comes and goes.”

Fortescue head Nev Power predicts steady iron ore prices

Australia’s third-largest iron ore exporter, Fortescue Metals Group, says “very low” iron ore supplies will ensure the steelmaking material stays around $US139-140 in the short term, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Fortescue chief executive officer Nev Power told ABC’s Inside Business on Sunday that iron ore prices would not fall significantly in the near term because steel mills should keep producing 2.1-2.2 million tonnes a day with the expectation that demand would return and prices would rise.

“While there is some potential for correction in steel production, I think it would only be minor and supply-demand balance is there in iron ore, so there aren’t the same factors there that would create any significant drop in the iron ore price,” he said.

Resource states surge as three-speed economic imbalance widens

WA is still firmly in the fast lane of Australia's three-speed economy thanks to an ongoing resource boom, while Tasmania and South Australia are languishing further behind, according to The Australian.

A natural gas boom in the Northern Territory has propelled annual economic growth in the Top End to a stellar 30% but WA, whose much larger economy is 13% bigger than a year ago, is performing better across a range of measures including population growth, investment, construction activity and retail spending.