Iron Ore Producers News

In its August HORIZON Dry Bulk month report, Maritime Strategies International states that against potential optimism from lower interest rates to come, price action in the iron ore market has been flashing warning signs. Prices have dropped about 10% since the start of the month and are now 30% lower than at the start of the year.With the freight market highly leveraged to iron ore flows (the largest dry bulk commodity), the response by suppliers will be critical. While it is…

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited said it has opened an office in Singapore and has appointed Ivo Kempenaer as Vice President and Commercial Director, Head of Major Bulks. “Genco continues to take important steps to optimize our commercial strategy and enable the company to more fully capitalize on its leading and sizeable operating platform. We are excited to establish a Singapore presence and grow our footprint globally, supporting our efforts to offer a full-scale logistics solution and strengthen relationships with leading iron ore producers and charterers worldwide.” John C.

The dry bulk commodity imports into and exports out of China we have seen in the first half of 2016 are very positive – and nothing short of extraordinary, says BIMCO. But, putting it into perspective, compared to the devastating freight rate levels over the same period, it highlights that something is very wrong in the dry bulk market. The market is nowhere near balanced. BIMCO’s data on seaborne iron ore imports into China, shows a growth of 9.6% for H1-2016 as compared to H1-2015. With seaborne coal volumes shipped into China during H1-2016 being on par with H2-2015, this represents a 5.0% growth on H1-2015. A continued surge in thermal coal imports seems limited…

If the price of the product your company produced had just experienced a 20 percent price surge in one day, its biggest jump ever, it would be reasonable for you to be overjoyed. But maybe not if you are an iron ore miner. This month's leap in Asian spot iron ore prices coincided with the annual Global Iron Ore and Steel Forecast conference in Perth, capital of Western Australia state and home to the iron ore operations of three of the world's four biggest producers. Spot iron ore soared to $62.60 a tonne on March 7 from a prior close of $52.40, a record in percentage terms and the biggest dollar move in four years. The problem for the insiders at the Perth conference is that as much as they would like to believe the move is sustainable, nobody really does.

Capesize market could worsen in short-term; 3.5 mln tonnes could be cut from Brazil ore exports. Freight rates for capesize bulk carriers could drift lower next week as Brazil's Samarco iron ore mine disaster and uncertain ore demand from China weigh on cargo volumes, brokers said. That comes as capesize charter rates from Brazil to China on Wednesday hit their lowest level since December 2008. "I'm afraid things could get even worse in the short term," said Ralph Leszczynski, head of research in Singapore at ship broking house Banchero Costa (Bancosta). "Sentiment about Chinese demand, by far the largest importer of iron ore, is just terrible at the moment," he said. The disaster at the Samarco iron ore mine on Nov.

Brazilian mining company Vale SA is close to making a "strategic" announcement concerning its coal unit, the company's chief executive Murilio Ferreira said on Thursday during a conference call with investors without providing details. Vale, the world's largest iron ore producer, has previously said it is trying to sell a stake in its Moatize coal mine, rail and port project in Mozambique. Rio de Janeiro-based Vale, which reported a surprise $1.44 billion third-quarter loss earlier on Thursday also said high-cost iron ore producers are not closing mines as quickly as expected. Still, iron-ore chief Jose Carlos Martins said during the…

Glencore approached Rio Tinto about a merger in July. A tie-up would have created the world's biggest miner. No further talks with Glencore after rejecting bid-Rio. Rio Tinto rejected a merger approach from smaller rival Glencore Plc to create a $160 billion mining and trading giant in August just as the price of its most profitable product, iron ore, slid toward a five-year low. The miner said on Tuesday Glencore had contacted it about a potential merger in July, adding that it turned Glencore down in August and there had been no further contact between the companies on a deal. A merger would have created the world's biggest miner, supplanting BHP Billiton.

Brazilian miner Vale SA reached a deal with China Ocean Shipping Co (Cosco) for transporting iron ore, a move that could help the Brazilian miner resolve a costly two-year ban on docking its mega-ships at Chinese ports. Vale said in a statement that it would transfer ownership of four very large iron ore carriers of 400,000 deadweight tons to Cosco. It would then lease them back from Cosco, the state-owned parent of top Chinese dry bulk shipper China Cosco , for 25 years. The deal is part of a continuing effort by Vale to move away from owning its own vessels so it can focus on mining and shore up its balance sheet. But this agreement could also pave the way for more productive negotiations with China over docking Vale's mega-bulk carrier known as the Valemax.

Trading firm Trafigura and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala said on Thursday their Brazilian port for exporting iron ore will start this year, in response to a steelmaker with a contract to use the port that said the opening could be pushed back to 2015. Porto Sudeste "is on track to start operation in the beginning of the last quarter of 2014," Eugenio Mamede, chief operating officer for the port, said in a written response to Reuters. Trafigura owns a controlling stake in the port with Abu Dhabi government investment fund Mubadala Development Co. The export terminal located in Rio de Janeiro state will be able to handle 50 million tonnes of iron ore per year, and could expand to 100 million tonnes.

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.

Reuters- Dry bulk carrier Golden Ocean Group Ltd expects double-digit growth in global iron ore trade in 2014, helping its markets pick up momentum and improving rates, the company's CEO Herman Billung said at a conference in Oslo on Wednesday. The dry bulk and tanker markets have experienced a severe downturn in recent years due to global economic turmoil and a slew of new vessels, but Golden Ocean has already detected signs of recovery, driven by increasing Chinese and Indian demand for iron ore and coal, in combination with scrapping of older vessels. Billung said he had had recent discussions in Singapore with major iron ore miners and one alone had indicated its shipping needs would rise to 100 cape-sized vessels…