Australian iron ore miner Atlas Iron Limited has announced that it has reached an agreement with its joint venture partner, Altura Mining Limited to purchase Altura's joint venture interest in the Mt Webber iron ore mine.
"Our decision to purchase Altura's joint venture interest reflects our confidence in Mt Webber as a high quality, low cost asset, where Atlas is just finalizing its expansion to 6 million mt per year. Atlas' significant infrastructure position and presence in iron ore markets means that it can bring the volume to market cheaper than Altura, who was paying Atlas a fee for those services." Atlas managing director, Ken Brinsden said.
According to Atlas Iron, the Mt Webber project commenced operations in July 2014 at an annualized target production rate of 3 million mt per year, however substantial reductions in the iron ore price in 2014 has placed Altura's stake in the operation under pressure and negative cashflow.