A lot of irrational and naive arguments in here. Mostly based on...

A lot of irrational and naive arguments in here.  Mostly based on emotion and ego, very little on logic and, in some cases, fact.

1. BHP and RIO's long term goals are not to drive the small player out.
   1. small, high cost producers are beneficial in that they hold up the supply-cost curve
   2. those same producers provide a point of difference to the big producers: steel production is all about feed consistency
   3. the small producers account for a pretty small tonnage of seaborne traded supply, shutting them down would have a short lived affect on the market
   4. Shutting down high cost producers is transient at best: as soon as the price rebounds (due to supposed under supply) the small producers would flood back in.  Eg, Territory Iron and Western Desert Resources (in receivership) could restart production overnight.
2. Sure, the state owns the minerals and collects royalties, but the risk in mine development lies with the shareholders.  A tonne of iron in the ground is worth about $0.50.  Its mined and exported royalty is worth about $5.50 per tonne.  How is Australia not reaping a benefit?
3. Vale's VLOC are not making any dent on pricing dynamics.  SDL's proposed VLOC will be likewise irrelevant - simply because they will not have the volume to make a difference.

I could go on, but you get the picture.