The Indian project was always set up as a low-grade, low-cost, low-capex domestic producer and it eventually met that objective, albeit having taken a whole lot longer than expected and it was only a small tonnage. The whole concept was based around selling product directly into the Indian steel mills, thereby insulating the company from price volatility in China. In my view, Cedric always did what he said he was going to do. I agree that it took a long time - everything in India always seems to be slower and more complex than expected - but I disagree that he was dishonest. The new proposed Kimberley operation looks OK and should make money, but it's a fair-weather project that was previously mothballed when prices went south. Obviously the supply curve has changed a lot since then with the problems Vale are having in Brazil, and there is a window of opportunity upon which juniors can capitalize if they're fast enough. The difference now is that the project is subject to impacts of seaborne shipping costs and Chinese demand as well as local issues of costs, output and weather, so it's a more complex equation than before. Whoever has high-grade ore at the port first will win.
IOR Price at posting:
6.9¢ Sentiment: Sell Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)