noble debt down from usd54.5mln to 43.36mln

If we can repay $10mln per quarter, by this time next year, TTY will be debt free as more than $11mln paid in Dec quarter, cashflow should have ben $8mln instead of $2mln and very god margin with operating cost at $48.73 per tonne versus iron ore price last reached $US131.20 a tonne on January 8:

* Positive cash flow of $2.03M generated for the Quarter, providing positive cash flow of $11.2M for the first half. This was despite a delayed final shipment, for which payment was received on 2 January 2010. If the ship vessel completed on schedule, operating cash flow for the Quarter would have been $8.0 million.

*Operating cost of A$48.73 per tonne shipped loaded in Darwin achieved for the financial year to date.

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Iron prices tipped to soar as Chinese mills feel the pinch From: The Australian January 27, 2010 12:00AM Increase Text SizeDecrease Text SizePrintEmail Share
Add to DiggAdd to del.icio.usAdd to FacebookAdd to KwoffAdd to MyspaceAdd to NewsvineWhat are these?CHINESE steelmakers, the world's largest buyers of iron ore, face escalating costs for the steelmaking ingredient as global rivals ArcelorMittal and Posco increase output to feed resurgent demand in developed economies.
Contract prices are expected to climb 31 per cent to the second-highest on record for the year starting April 1, judging by a survey of 17 analysts conducted by Bloomberg.

That compares with the 14 per cent gain forecast in October. Nomura and Bank of America Merrill Lynch expect a 50 per cent jump.

The demand revival will benefit BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Vale, the three largest suppliers of iron ore. The global recession forced miners to slash prices by 33 per cent in 2009, the first reduction in seven years.

"The big mills in China have been driving the price, but now capacity outside China is picking up," said Colin Hamilton, a Macquarie Securities Group analyst in London. "There is pressure on producers to deliver into Europe and elsewhere, which is exacerbating the tightness."

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ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker, is raising production as South Korea's Posco predicts global steel demand will rise 10 per cent this year.

Supply concern has prompted "panic buying" of iron ore by the Chinese, according to Goldman Sachs JBWere, as prices of ore for immediate delivery jump to a 13-month high.

Iron ore demand from China, led by Baosteel Group, could rise 6.2 per cent this year, while purchases in the rest of the world could surge 16 per cent, Morgan Stanley's chief metals economist Peter Richardson has forecast.

"The global recovery, excluding China, may add 100 million tonnes of crude steel output this year," Xu Xiangchun, chief analyst with Mysteel Research Institute in Beijing, said.

"Iron ore price negotiations will probably be concluded quickly because the situation is very clear that prices must rise."

Iron ore for immediate delivery into China surged to a 13-month high of $US131.20 a tonne on January 8, according to the Steel Index. Japanese steelmakers agreed to contract prices of about $US61 a tonne, excluding freight, in 2009. The Chinese increased purchases on the cash spot ore market after rejecting the 33 per cent cut for contract delivery as too small.

A Chinese agreement might be possible this year as the steelmakers "are under pressure because the alternative is to not agree to a higher contract price and to align themselves with spot, which is currently much higher", said Daniel Fairclough, an analyst at ICAP Equities in London. Chinese iron ore imports will climb to 667 million tonnes this year, from a record 628 million tonnes in 2009, according to Morgan Stanley. Consumption outside of China would leap to 329 million tonnes from 283 million tonnes, the brokerage said.

BHP, Rio and Vale get about $US44.3 billion ($49bn) in combined annual sales from iron ore, according to data for the latest available period.

London-based Rio, the second-largest supplier, said demand was recovering after reporting a 49 per cent jump in fourth-quarter output.

Recovery in markets outside of China could tighten supplies, Vale, the largest producer, said.

ArcelorMittal said in October the rebound in steel demand would push capacity usage in the fourth quarter to about 70 per cent, from 61 per cent in the pre Posco said last week it would raise output by 17 per cent this year.