Iron ore price, page-27045

Ship operators who carry Australia's lucrative iron ore exports from Western Australia's Pilbara region have baulked at new charges aimed at solving nearby dust pollution problems.
Key points:

• Shipping Australia has slammed new iron ore export charges as "breathtakingly outrageous"
• The Pilbara Ports Authority is imposing a $13,450 fee on each major iron ore export to help fund a buyback of dust-affected homes in Port Hedland
• Port Hedland is the world's biggest bulk export port, through which 46.5 million tonnes of iron ore was exported in December

From March 1, the Pilbara Ports Authority will impose a $13,450 levy on every major ship load of iron ore from the world's largest bulk export port at Port Hedland, 1,650km north of Perth.
The WA Government will use the money to compensate residents in up to 400 nearby dust-affected homes under a $200 million voluntary property buyback scheme negotiated with industry.
But Shipping Australia chief executive Melwyn Noronha said it was "fundamentally incorrect" the ship operators were being asked to pay to deal with the dust issue.