Ann: FMS Pilbara Iron Ore Mining Lease Granted , page-29

re: Ann: FMS Pilbara Iron Ore Mining Lease Gr... You guys are missing the point, FMG is up and running and they did it with todays dollars.

BHPBIO's Hedland situation well a lot of it is in the process of being completely upgraded. I think the crusher is being replaced and relocated to the mine site.

Go and look at the arial view of FMG,s operation and compare that with what BHPBIO have. Go and have a look at Spaghetti Junction at Port Hedland, that is the end result of as hoc decisions over many years with many different owners. Think about the tunnel out to Finnegan Island built on budged and on time and rusted to pieces because to be on time they left out the cathodic protection. By now that is probably fixed, but the fixing would not be cheap.

The ten billion FMS needs to spend is the same sort of money the others are spending on upgrading their operations. Do not forget that a rail line to the coast would be a saleable item to other small miners. 1.5 billion tons is a lot of ore.

What our management has done is try to get the cheap solution. Twiggy did not try for the cheap solution.

Have a look at the parallel line FMF and BHPBIO going into Port Hedland how long will that be two separate one way rail lines? Combine those lines and you have the equivalent of a continuous rail conveyor belt going into Hedland. The moment someone integrates that the only limiting factor is ship loaders at Hedland.

If FMS has to build a parallel line to the coast they have the ability to put fear into a Major on the basis of how that line will be used and by whom.


Anyway if a second bid was to happen it would have happened by now.

I see a paragraph in the New Testament about a Camel and the Eye of a Needle well, us so called Christians said, "The meek don't want it" and handed the money handling over to others. That guys, is the sad truth being played out before our eyes. Our good book was mickey finned around the year 310 at the Council of Nicaea and we are not bright enough to have spotted it. Don't you have to love the way our belief in God has been shuffled around. Peanuts got it right when he said "we have spotted the enemy and he are us."