spoke to brett the man

G’day ferro fans. I attended the AMEC “Mining AUST-ASIS 2008” forum in Bris yesterday. Brett Manning did a presentation on FWL. The slides will probably be available on the web site. It was nothing new really but I will make a few comments. Interesting I hope.
He explained what MPI is and how important/useful it is in arc furnace steel production. He held up the MPI pellets that it will produce. They are hemi-spherical about the size of a half marble. Easy to transport and store. The other overview of the project and the ITmk3 technology was not news to me or any of you either I would think.
I did get a one on one with him for about 10 minutes after his presentation.
His frequent small on market buys are his way of telling we holders that all is going well and remain confident. He said that if I have hung on this long than I will be rewarded. (we all hope!!)
I asked him about the MPI market and who wants it. He is confident that the demand will keep growing. China has mostly blast furnaces so they really want DSO hematite. Here is the good bit!! They have a lot of old furnace types that are heavy polluters and are in the process of being shut down. He believes that some will be replaced by arc to produce the higher quality steels. They will then need some MPI to supplement the feed stock of recycled Fe. Chinese demand low now but could grow. It is Japan and Korea where the current market is. He has been in discussions with several parties. MOUs as we know.
What about the small reference to the Middle East in ann a while back? In short, the middle east has a small fragmented steel industry so they are big importers. The type of building projects there do need a lot of high quality steel. To be more self sufficient some are interested in producing more themselves. The MPI from FWL and others would be good feed stock for new arc furnaces to produce the high quality product. Again no real market now but good growth potential.
The DSO mentioned in recent ann? To early to know just how much hematite we have, but it looks viable. If it is smallish they can truck it to rail line. Diesel is expensive so trucking is high cost. If the DSO is of a large enough size then rail is the best option. There was an old rail line (120km) that did go through the property near the DSO. It could be refurbished and re-laid cheaper that building new track. At best the cash from the DSO could basically fund the “real” project? He said yes, if it is big enough. YES!!!
As FWL is looking to trail blaze the new ITmk3 technology in this region could this be of longer term benefit to FWL as it will be able to help others develop their magnetite deposits? He did not really have much to say as it is such early days I suppose but did agree that it could be of benefit. I did notice that some of the other presenting companies e.g. POL do seem to dismiss whatever mag they have to concentrate on DSO hem. There will come a time (IMO) when they will want to gain value from their Mag. ……A bit far off yet I suppose……….
Some others then came over to speak. All new to FWL but were impressed with the project and the niche market it is trying to develop and the value adding not just another DSO out-fit.
I hope that this rubbish has been worth the read.
Cheers