New Rio Tinto boss signals end of iron ore wars
Rio Tinto's new chief executive, Jean-Sebastien Jacques, has signalled the era of accelerated iron ore production is over with the world's second-largest exporter less concerned about chasing market share at a time when Chinese attempts to remove overcapacity from domestic steelmaking could take longer than expected, according to the Australian Financial Review.
Jacques, who formally replaced previous Rio boss Sam Walsh on Saturday, also played down the prospect of the London-based miner using its relative position of strength in the resources sector to embark on an acquisition spree, arguing prices paid for quality mining projects in 2016 were high despite the worst commodities downturn in decades.
BHP Billiton-Vale's Brazilian mine said to be seeking cash injection
Vale SA and BHP Billiton's Brazilian mining joint venture is seeking capital injections from its owners as it runs out of cash after a deadly accident halted output, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The iron-ore company's cash will expire by August and it needs contributions from Vale and BHP to stay afloat, two people said, asking not to be identified because talks are private.
Samarco, as the venture is known, has already started exploring ways to restructure about $US1.6 billion in bank loans and may seek to put off bond payments until it can resume operations, the people said.
China steel consumption may contract as much as 20%, says Goldman
Goldman Sachs is forecasting that steel consumption in China will shrink again from next year after a brief respite in 2016, and the nation's iron ore imports will eventually start to decline too as policy makers shift the economy away from investment, according to the Australian Financial Review.
Steel demand will contract 2% cent in 2017 and a further 2% in 2018 following a 1% expansion this year, Goldman said in a report received on Friday that summarised results of new modelling. China's steel consumption may end up dropping as much as 20%, according the bank.
