The debt should be cleared by end of July 2010, only another two...

The debt should be cleared by end of July 2010, only another two months to go. Using the new RIO pricing for next quarter, TTY should be making US$80-90/ton profit. Add to the fact that the AUD$ is down we should see a profit of AUD$60 million per quarter ( YES per quarter). More that the entire market cap of TTY. So the present shareprice makes no sense.

Rio sets iron ore price for second quarter
From: Dow Jones Newswires May 24, 2010 12:00AM

MINING: Chinese mills received the official iron ore price offer for the second quarter of this year from Rio Tinto on Friday, an executive in charge of iron ore imports at one of China's largest steelmakers says.

According to Rio Tinto's offer, the free-on-board price for fine ore with grade of 63.5 per cent was about $US123 per tonne and around $US138 per tonne for lump ore, said the executive.

Adding the ocean freight, the final clearing price of iron ore with grade of 63.5 per cent for Chinese mills in the second quarter is around $US135 per tonne, roughly twice the annual benchmark price of 2009 settled among global miners and Japanese and Korean steelmakers.

"This official price is $US10 to $US20 higher than the previous provisional price," said the executive.

The China Iron & Steel Association, which organises the annual iron ore talks between Chinese mills and global miners, admitted last month that the country's mills and global iron ore miners had reached private price deals on iron ore supply, even as negotiations continued.


The biggest steelmakers in China, including Baosteel Group and Shagang Group, later separately acknowledged that "every mill in China has a private provisional deal with iron ore miners".

If China ultimately accepts the price offer, it means the finalisation of a shift in term pricing for iron ore to a quarterly basis from an annual system.