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Rio eyes 95% ore price rise
Bill Condie23.06.08
Mining giant Rio Tinto may secure a record price increase of more than 95% for iron ore shipped to Asian steel mills, according to Aussie investment bank Macquarie.
Rio is committed to obtaining more than the 71% agreed by Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce in February. Mills in China, the largest iron-ore buyers, have failed to resist rising prices, which have trebled in five years.
The company wants to double annual output from its Western Australian mines to 320 million tons within five years to take advantage of these prices.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government has enlisted privateequity company Blackstone to advise aluminium giant Chinalco on its role in BHP Billiton's takeover bid for Rio Tinto.
