The Australian Mount Gibson Iron Ltd (Mt Gibson) - 20 percent of which is owned by the Russian
iron ore and steel producer Metalloinvest Holding - has announced that it will raise
iron ore prices under contract by 9.5 percent effective from April 2007, in line with the major
iron ore mines such as
BHP Billion,
Rio Tinto and
Brazil's CVRD.
The company's main mine, the Tallering Peak project which is located in Western
Australia's emerging Mid-West
iron ore province, produces three million metric tons of hematite ore yearly. In addition, Mt Gibson also expects to produce annually 2-3 million metric tons of
iron ore from its Extension Hill project in the same region from 2008.
Last week, Mt Gibson had finally gained control of a 90 percent stake in its main rival Aztec Resource Ltd. This gave the company access to Western
Australia's Koolan Island
iron ore project, which is expected to start
iron ore deliveries next month.