iron ore producers welcome accc ruling

Not sure if this has been mentioned here before, but its got to be good news for FMS:


IRON ORE PRODUCERS WELCOME ACCC RULING

29.04.2010 07:06 PM
A group of junior iron ore producers has been granted authority by the competition regulator to collectively negotiate for access to rail lines in Western Australia, owned by the mining giants BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Thursday gave the members of the North West Iron Ore Alliance conditional authority to engage in collective negotiations for rail haulage services and rail track access in WA's Pilbara region.
The Alliance, which comprises Atlas Iron Ltd, Brockman Resources Ltd and FerrAus Ltd, has been seeking to negotiate with BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, all of which have their own railway lines.
Fortescue, which also is seeking greater rail access, has been supportive of the alliance members' efforts.
The decision comes after the ACCC in February made a draft determination, proposing the Alliance members be given authorisation to collectively negotiate.
"We are extremely happy with the decision," a spokeswoman for the Alliance said of the latest announcement.
The Pilbara is a resource rich area, but some miners have had difficulties transporting the resources over the huge distances to port for shipping to overseas steel mills.
Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton have however previously said there was no excess capacity to allow third-party rail access.
While unable to comment on the latest decision by the ACCC, a Rio Tinto spokesman said the company's Pilbara operations were already running at plate capacity.
The ACCC authorisation to negotiate was needed by the Alliance members so they could jointly negotiate without fear of breaching the Trade Practices Act.
"Participation in the collective negotiations is voluntary for both iron ore producers and the service providers," the ACCC said.


http://thebull.com.au/articles_detail.php?id=11076