Iron ore price, page-9719

Iron ore miners in Australia climbed to multi-year highs on Tuesday after Brazil’s Vale was ordered to stop using tailing dams on its second largest operation following an accident that killed at least 134 people at another of its mines. Vale said production at the Brucutú mine would be affected after a court ordered it to “refrain from throwing tailing or practising any activity potentially capable of increasing the risks of dams”. Tailings dams are used to store the byproducts of mining.

The collapse of the tailings dam belonging to Vale in late January was the second involving the company in over three years. Jefferies said in a note that the closure of the mine would be a “positive for other iron ore miners.

Fortescue Metals was the biggest gainer in morning trading in Sydney, rising as much as 4.4 per cent while Rio Tinto climbed 2.8 per cent to its highest since 2008. BHP Billiton rose as much as 1.4 per cent to its highest in more than seven years. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.8 per cent.