race for australian mine assets

Hi Team, There has been lots of talk about Atlas over the last year regards takeover etc, I for one would be pleased of something to start the ball rolling, after many years of holding ,My view is it seems to drop more on the dips
and rised less on the up days than most.
Hoping something like this might put a spark under the SP and hold it there for sometime.
Cheers Blades

MELBOURNE/SYDNEY | Tue Jan 17, 2012 1:39am EST
By Sonali Paul and Narayanan Somasundaram

(Reuters) - Asian and U.S. companies racing to snap up coal, iron ore and uranium assets to meet booming demand for power and steel making will give dominant Chinese buyers a run for their money in what's likely to be another bumper year for Australian mining M&A.

Frozen credit markets and a slowing Chinese economy may check Beijing's buying spree, but there are Japanese, South Korean and U.S. companies, and cashed-up global miners, ready to bet on Australian minerals.

Coal is likely to be the No.1 target, as well as firms that have port access and resources in Africa, where assets are of high quality and cheaper to develop.

That puts companies such as Atlas Iron (AGO.AX), a merged Aston Resources (AZT.AX)-Whitehaven (WHC.AX), and uranium miner Paladin Energy (PDN.AX) in the spotlight. Other potential targets are coal miner Bathurst (BTU.AX), with assets in New Zealand, and gold miners Perseus Mining (PRU.AX) and Regis Resources (RRL.AX), bankers and analysts said.

State-run Chinese firms will likely run up against firms such as Xstrata (XTA.L), Japan's Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T), South Korea's POSCO (005490.KS) and U.S- based Alpha Natural Resources (ANR.N) in chasing those assets, bankers and analysts say.

"We expect to see appetite from Japanese, U.S. and Chinese companies for Australian mining assets," said David Wood, resources banker at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, who advised Peabody (BTU.N) and China's Hanlong in Australian acquisitions last year.

"A number of U.S. companies are interested in investing in high-margin assets with a strong operational track record. Australia remains an attractive investment destination."

BHP Billiton (BHP.AX)(BLT.L) and Rio Tinto (RIO.AX)(RIO.L) are expected to have combined earnings of some $55 billion, putting them in a strong position to compete for assets.

Australia was a standout last year, with a 12 percent rise in M&A activity to $173 billion against a 12 percent drop for Asia, according to Thomson Reuters data. Resource deals made up 44 percent of all Australian inbound deals.

Aso under the heading
Australia top mining deals: r.reuters.com/wat95s

Atlas Mining will be on buyers' radar as it expects to double its annual iron ore production in Western Australia's Pilbara region to 12 million tonnes this year, and doesn't need expensive infrastructure as it trucks its ore to port.

The A$2.8 billion company also has a range of undeveloped prospects in Western Australia, following its takeovers of FerrAus and Giralia last year, making it an attractive target.

"We're seeing some pretty significant deals brewing in iron ore, so we think there's going to be some ongoing activity," said Tivey.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/17/us-dealtalk-mining-australia-idUSTRE80G0BN20120117