bci and fmg - coming deals ?

BCI has a ton of cash and more cash and a stated desire to expand in the Pilbara (well, the Nullagine mine is top notch but has a short mine life). See story below (BCI has flagged this for some time in the public domain).

Now, if you look at the anouncement today regarding partnership for Horizon II, it's pretty relevant.

Also I reckon a FMG rail deal will be announced shortly (as the ERA decision is out) and Formosa will fork out $500M to use TPI for 4 years. Atlas's submission to the ERA is more than a hint that any deal will be a FMG deal.

I further concluded that the only deal is a FMG deal because the following can only meaningfully be associated with FMG (and not Aurizon who is just toying with the concept and is not supported by their key share holders).

http://www.miningweekly.com/article/bc-iron-looks-to-pilbara-for-growth-2013-08-06

KALGOORLIE (miningweekly.com) – Iron-ore junior BC Iron MD Morgan Ball has told delegates at the Diggers and Dealers conference that the company’s next growth opportunity would likely come from the Pilbara.

Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Ball noted that despite market perception, the Pilbara still offered significant production opportunities.

“If you are smart, patient and commercial, you can still make money in the Pilbara with iron-ore projects. And that would clearly be a better option for us and our shareholders than spending a bunch of money overseas.”

BC Iron is currently mining iron-ore from its Nullagine joint venture with Fortescue Metals, with the project producing some five-million tonnes of ore during the full 2013.

In May, BC and fellow-listed Cleveland Mining signed two memoranda of understanding to acquire up to 80% shareholding over three separate iron-ore projects in Brazil.

The agreements proposed a staged earn-in process linked to the exploration and development assessment of each stage of the projects and would be conditional on the completion of a long-term option to purchase agreement.

Until the alliance earned an 80% equity, BC and Cleveland would equally co-fund all project expenditure. After this, and once construction and operations started, the alliance and the project vendor would contribute funding in line with their retained equity.

But certainly, the next opportunity will be iron-ore focused.

“It's what we know, and we do it well.”