Port Hedland, Australia, Tugboat Strike Update
BHP Billiton said on Wednesday it may seek government intervention to avert industrial action by tugboat workers at the Port Hedland iron ore port that threatens to disrupt hundreds of millions of dollars in exports. "It's highly likely we would do that," Jimmy Wilson, president of BHP's iron ore division, told reporters amid a long-running dispute between union workers and port services operator Teekay Shipping, which charges BHP a fee for operating tug services. BHP also called the union's demands on pay and working conditions "unreasonable". Australia's government has intervened in industrial disputes before. In 2011, the Fair Work Australia commission stepped in to end a long-running dispute between Qantas and three unions when the airline grounded its fleet…
Australia's Iron Ore Miners Hang Tough as Prices Fall
If Australian miners are worried about the dramatic decline in iron ore prices, it doesn't show. At an annual gathering of many of the world's biggest and smallest iron ore producers here the mood is upbeat - as if the heftiest one-day fall in ore prices since the global financial crisis never happened. "Iron ore mining isn't tennis, it's a contact sport," said David Flanagan, chairman of Atlas Iron Ltd. "Sometimes it hurts a bit, like you copped it in the stomach. Iron ore for immediate delivery to China slumped 8 percent on Monday after data showed China's trade balance swung into deficit, amplifying concerns about a slowdown in the world's No. 2 economy and the biggest importer of the steel-making ingredient.
