Rio to sell Pilbara ore to IndiaPETER KLINGER, The West Australian December 17, 2009, 6:28 am
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DeliciousTwitterMyspaceDiggStumble UponFacebookPrint BLOOMBERG NEWS / NELSON CHING Rio Tinto will this month sell a shipment of Pilbara ore to Indian steel mill Essa in another step towards the mining giant's ambition of setting up a significant iron ore business on the sub-continent.
Although insignificant in dollar terms compared to the millions of tonnes that Rio ships to Asian steel mills under long-term contracts, the Essa cargo is expected to be the first of many as the Indian mill tries to secure a bigger slice of Rio's Pilbara output.
Rio has long harboured ambitions to become a significant player in India's iron ore industry, which at about 210 million tonnes has an annual output capacity similar to that of Rio's Pilbara business.
Talks with state-owned entities about setting up a mining joint venture in the minerals-rich state of Orissa are progressing fast - Rio Tinto Iron Ore boss Sam Walsh and his strategy head Alan Davies have just returned from India - and the Essa shipment is regarded as another important step in the process.
Rio hopes to eventually become a major Indian-based iron ore producer, supplying the country's domestic market as well as adding to its own seaborne portfolio that includes ore from the Pilbara and Canada and, in future, Guinea.
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