To answer the MIN iron ore volume question- I posted this on a...

To answer the MIN iron ore volume question- I posted this on a different thread:

Cleveland-Clifford was doing about 11Million tonnes a couple of years ago.
MIN iron ore is Iron Valley (7-16Mt), Yilgarn (Carina) is 5.4Mt
So that means MIN has got about somewhere between 13-32Mt of annual capacity.
The website and I quote:
“MRL's iron ore divsion has grown rapidly from a junior iron ore explorer into a medium-sized iron ore producer, with a vast pipeline of high quality development projects and exploration targets across Western Australia”


I think what is confusing all is that the governments letter isn’t really clear- my take is that the junior issue is the key question and even that is difficult to appreciate: is it iron ore, is it total volume, is it market cap?

As far as NWI/AGO is concerned:
You don’t just get an environmental license/approval.  Firstly it costs money (read something about NWI had invested $46M to date in the process).  But you secure some form of right for your intended project prior- who would invest that kind of money on the back of not having a guarantee that your project rights are secure?

The last statement from the AGO announcement may be indicative that the BOD is growing some b...ls, even if it could be driven by one of the big three involved- they are disputing this as it is interpreted as different to what was in the original agreement as to who has the right to develop the port- NWI.

So as I see it-
NWI can develop the berths (port) but it has to be for the use of juniors.
None of the three- MIN, FMG or Gina can really be classified as juniors.
If AGO is already using Utah point excess capacity for third party carriers (not sure about their junior status) that could be allowed to occur.

The exclusive right of NWI may result in a dispute that the government may have to defend in court and then pay back development charges and any implied rights- probably a sum close to half AGO’s MC- no government likes to give money they havent got or already spent back, so whoever ends up owning AGO(and hence NWI) could have nice bargaining chip...