## announcement out - very impressive grades! ## , page-9

++ cleveland-cliffs (us) on the prowl again! +++ Scouring for goldmine

Cleveland-Cliffs, the US iron ore producer that bought 80 per cent of Portman earlier this year, is on the hunt for more Australian acquisitions.

A Cleveland-Cliffs executive at the Iron Ore 2005 conference said his company wanted to complete three deals of a similar size within the next few years. The US company acquired its stake in Portman earlier this year. It plans to use Portman as its Australian acquisition vehicle. This would help make up for the lack of growth opportunities in North America, where Cleveland-Cliffs is a big enough player that it could face anti-trust regulations.

The Ohio-based company is looking at junior iron ore companies in Australia and South America that are at least in the feasibility stage. Several firms in the Mid-West region of Western Australia, including Gindalbie Metals, Midwest, Mount Gibson and Murchison Metals could fit the bill, along with Aztec Resources further north.

Meanwhile, Portman shareholders who took Credit Suisse First Boston's advice and rejected the $3.85 a share offer are sitting pretty, as their shares rose 5c to $4.45 yesterday because the market believes this year's record benchmark iron ore prices will increase even further next year.


http://www.smh.com.au/news/xchange/qantas-flies-into-more-foreign-hands/2005/09/20/1126982061140.html