portman halt

Portman in trading halt
Portman Ltd, Australia's third largest iron ore producer, is in a trading halt pending the release of a "clarifying" statement regarding Golden West Resources Ltd, in which it has a significant stake.

Golden West is also in a trading halt pending, with the announcement expected before the start of trading on Friday.

Portman, which is majority owned by North America's largest producer of iron-ore pellets, Cleveland Cliffs Inc, requested the halt pending "the release of a clarifying announcement regarding Golden West Resources Ltd".

The iron ore miner has built up a 14.9 per cent stake in Golden West after securing an initial 10 per cent stake in the company following the Opes Prime saga.

Opes Prime, which was involved in the borrowing and lending of securities, was placed in receivership owing more than $1 billion to secured creditors, primarily ANZ Banking Group Ltd and Merrill Lynch.

Portman appears to have secured that initial stake in Golden West from Fairstar Resources Ltd, which has launched an all-scrip takeover for the company.

Fairstar had 10 million Golden West shares pledged to ANZ Nominees on behalf of Opes Prime as security for a January capital raising by the company